LONDON, Nov. 26 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

* Chancellor doubles down on cutting cost of livingand inflationfor hard working families across the UKwith £150 off energy bills and freezes for rail fares, fueldutyand prescription fees * Announces 250 new Neighbourhood Health Centresbuilding onthebiggest waiting list drop in 15 years with 5.2 millionmore appointments * Sets out the fairchoices takenby the governmentthat will cut our debt and government borrowingto helpinterest rateskeep falling.

The Chancellor todayunveiled a Budgetthattakesthe fair choices todeliveron the country's prioritiesofcuttingthe cost of living,reducingNHS waiting lists anddrivingdown our borrowing and debt.

Millions of hardworking families struggling with household costs willbenefitfromRachelReeves'inflation-bustingdecisions,withdecisive actiontocut£150 off energy bills,freezerail fares anda historic move tolift450,000childrenout of poverty.

Despite a decade of damage and historic underinvestment under the previous government which led to a£16 billiondowngrade to productivity, the Chancellor was clearshewas determinedto defythe forecasts and breakBritain out of itscycleofdecline through stability, investment and reform.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:

I can tell you today that, for every family we are keeping our promise to get energy bills down and cut the cost of living with £150 taken off the average household energy bill from April.

Money off bills, and in the pockets of working people. That is my choice.

Upgradingthe UK'seconomic growth this year to 1.5% from 1% in the Spring,the government's fiscal watchdog the Officeof Budget Responsibility(OBR) said the choices taken in theBudget wouldreduce inflation to 0.4% next year andcut government borrowing faster than any other G7 country, meaningmoremoneycan bespent onvital public servicesrather than debt interest.

It also said the Chancellor would more thandouble headroom to over£21.7 billion- providing the stability we need for economic growth.

Cuttingthe cost of living

The choices the government has made have led towages growingmore in the first year of this government thanat any point in the 2010s, but the Chancellor was clear too many families are still struggling with the cost of living which is why theBudgetincludes a range of measures tocut billsandboostpay packets.

Front and centre of the plans is a move to take £150 off energy billstolower inflation and ease pressure on family finances. Poorer households will save up to £300 when combined with the Warm Homes Discount.

In a range of further measures designed to ease the cost of living, commuters willsavehundreds of pounds on their season ticketsafterrail fareswere frozenfor the first time in 30 years. An extension of thetemporary 5p fuel duty cut for an extra 5months, a further fuel duty freeze, and the new UK wide Fuel Finder scheme willsave the average driver £89, andboostedpay-packets will givea £900 rise for full time workers on the National Living Wage and National Minimum wage. Full-time workers on the 18-20 National Minimum Wage rate will see a £1,500 rise.

Thanks tothe government'scommitment to thepension triplelock for this parliament, pensioners on the full newstatepensionwillreceive an extra £575 a year from April 2026.

Cutting waiting lists and protecting vitalpublic services

The Chancellorwas clear the government would notreturn toausterity by slashing public investment or public services whichleftwaiting lists rising and choked off economic growth.

Instead,she committed tomaintainingthe highest levels of public investment for four decades,protectingtherecord investment in our NHSthathas cut waiting lists by over 230,000, the largest fall in 15 years, and delivered an extra 5.2 million appointments in England.

The Chancellor todaystatedshe will go further, announcing 250 new Neighbourhood Health Centres and expanding more services back into communities so people can get better, faster care locally.

Reeveswas also clear that the government would be relentless in driving out wasteso that every penny of public money is spent wisely.Shereaffirmedplans tocutthe cost of politics, by abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners and 5,000 councillorswhich together savemore than £250 million over five years whilecontinuing the crackdown onCovid fraud is estimated to deliver almost£400 million.

Cutting Debt

Currently,£1 in every £10 the public sector spends now goes on debt interest - four times what we spend on nurses.The Chancellor made clear there was nothing progressive about this and set out plans tocut borrowing and our debt by spending wisely, reforming welfare and making fair choices on tax.

Her decisions and commitment to her iron clad fiscal ruleswillmean borrowing will fall in every year, doubling the fiscal headroom to£21.7 billion to secure the public finances.

Driving economicgrowth

The Chancellor said she was determinedtodouble down onthe decisive actionto grow the economy andcreate good jobs,building on theaction alreadytakenincludingincreasingpublic investment by over £120 billion over the Parliament,creatingtheNational Wealth Fund, which has already invested £3.8 billion,backingbuilders not blockers through the biggest planning reforms in a generationandsupportingthe expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick airports, plus the construction of Sizewell C.

She announcedshe would besupportinghigh streets with permanently lower tax rates for 750,000 retail and hospitality propertiesandbacking entrepreneurs and fast-growing companies with tax breaks to hire and list intheUK.

Other measures to boost growth include funding hundreds more planners across England to supercharge the government's commitment to build 1.5 million homes,extending the DLR to Thamesmead, unlocking thousands of new homes and jobs and investing further in the Lower Thames Crossing, building the UK's first Small Modular Reactors at Wylfa on Anglesey, introducing a first-of-its-kind three-year stamp duty holiday for new UK-listed companies, saving firms up to £50 million per year and increasing share pricesandreforming ISAs to get more people investing and drive £4 billion of investment into our stock market.

Making the tax system fairer

On tax,theChancellorset out fairand necessary choices that willdeliver on the public's priorities to cut the cost of living, NHS waiting lists and borrowing.She said she would be implementing themajor reformstoprotect employees pay slips but also cut their energy bills.

Asking everyone to contribute,the current personaltax thresholdswillbefrozen from2028 to2031, but those with broader shoulderswillcontribute more through fair reforms previously ducked for too long.Taxes on property, dividend and saving income - which currently face no equivalent of National Insurance-willbe increasedby 2p,narrowingthe tax gap between landlords and tenants, withadditional allowancestoprotect those with small amounts of such income.

A typical family home in England pays more council tax than a £10millionWestminster mansion,so the Budget alsointroducesa High Value Council Tax Surcharge on homes worthmore than £2 million, while protecting those on low incomes.

The Budgetalsoset out reforms to well-intentioned tax reliefs which have seen significantly increasing costs that disproportionatelybenefitthe wealthy.From April 2029, the government will charge employee and employer National Insurance on any pension contributions made via salary sacrifice above £2,000 a yearandhalvecapital gains tax relief for bosses selling their businesses to Employee Ownership Trusts from 100% to 50% to retain a strong incentive for employee ownership while ensuring business owners pay their fair share.

In movestoupdatethetax system for a modern-day economythe government is introducing a new per mile levy for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, coming in 2028.All cars contribute to wear and tear on our roads, so it is only right that our motoring taxes cover EVs via a modest per mile levy, with extra support to keep EV ownership attractive.

Responding to the significant growth in online gambling which has boosted revenues while increasing social harms, the government will increase online gambling duties, raising more than £1 billion a year.In-person gambling for horseracingwill be protected withthe government alsoscrapping bingo duty to recognise the cultural value these provide for millions across the country.

Fuel prices are now at their lowest in real terms for a decade. To support motorists, the government is extending the temporary 5p cut to fuel duty for a furtherfivemonthsuntil the end of August 2026, as well as cancelling the planned inflation increase for 2026-27.After this extension, the fuel duty rate will gradually return toearly2022 levels.

Reforming welfare

Withfairness at its heart, theBudgetalso set out a series of measures to fix abroken welfare system that has left millions written off as too sick to work.

The historic decision to remove the two-child limit in full from April 2026 will lift 450,000 children out of poverty - the biggest reduction at any Budget this century.Making children poor costs us all in the long run with a child growing up in povertyless likely to work and25%more likely to be on benefits as an adult.

The Chancelloralsoannouncedreforms toMotability, removing luxury carsfrom the schemeandsavingtaxpayers£1.5 billion overfiveyears.The Budgetalso supports the long-term youth unemployed by offeringthema guaranteedjob instead of benefits andcloses the loophole that allows peopleliving abroadto buya UK State Pensionat a reduced rate.

The Chancellor was clear the Budget makesfair but necessarychoices - but those choices are for a purpose: building a stronger, fairer country, where living standards rise, child poverty falls, and public services are rebuilt in every corner of Britain.

More information

* Cutting the Cost of Living * Driving Economic Growth * Tax support for businesses

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.