Summary

  1. Chancellor pressed over UK's high debtpublished at 09:27 GMT

    Kuenssberg's next question to the chancellor is about the UK's high debt - more than 97% of the whole economy - and whether the government has the appetite to make significant cuts to public spending.

    John Healey replies by saying "fiscal discipline" is at the heart of the Budget and the UK will reduce its deficit now "faster than any G7 country by 2029".

    When asked if the government could make up to 6% of cuts to some departments over a couple of years, the chancellor says he is "prepared to take hard decisions".

    He also says Labour is introducing "radical" devolution that will help the country cut the costs of double running between central and local government.

  2. Healey pushed on risk of breaking minimum wage promise for younger workerspublished at 09:21 GMT

    Healey is then asked if younger workers would be paid the same as older workers, when it comes to the minimum wage, by the time of the next election.

    "We'll take one step at a time," he says, suggesting that Labour might abandon its plan to close the gap before the next election.

    For context: In 2024, Labour said it would end the gap between the adult minimum wage and pay for 18 to 20-year-olds. But in the Budget, Healey said that younger workers would see the same increase as older workers, leaving a gap between the two rates this year. Pay for 18 to 20-year-olds in 2026 will rise to £11.27, while over-20s will be paid a minimum of £13.21 an hour.

    Watch the chancellor's answer below:

  3. Healey commits to bringing benefits bill downpublished at 09:19 GMT

    John Healey is pictured speaking at Downing Street, wearing a blue suit and red tie, with a red poppy on his left lapel.

    Moving on, the chancellor commits once again to spending less on welfare by the time of the next election: "We will bring the benefits bill down," he says.

    Kuenssberg pushes Healey on whether the overall bill will actually come down, or whether the government will merely slow the rate of increase, as was suggested by the Treasury and Downing Street.

    "The overall bill must come down," the chancellor says. "There's nothing progressive in a bigger and bigger benefits bill. That's an economic duty, but it's also a moral duty."

    Healey goes on to say that changes to the social security system will be made "in a way that reflects our values", with the support of businesses and trade unions to get people into work.

    It is a "national scandal", he says, that a million young people are not in employment, education or training.

  4. 'This is a very dangerous world and threats are rising' - Healeypublished at 09:14 GMT

    Sitting down for an interview at Downing Street, the first topic Laura Kuenssberg questions the chancellor about is the defence secretary saying that the UK needs to be ready for war by July 2029.

    John Healey responds by saying "that's the Nato assessment".

    "We have to do more as this is a very dangerous world and threats are rising," the chancellor says.

    He adds the current government has raised defence spending "by a record amount since the Cold War" and is planning to set a 3% defence spending target for 2030.

    When pressed on if the government will be able to fund these increases to defence spending, the chancellor says for the first time the defence investment plan has been "fully funded".

    He says his Budget has demonstrated that he is willing to make hard decisions about priorities.

  5. 'Having got to the weekend - that's a result,' chancellor jokes about his first Budgetpublished at 09:10 GMT

    Laura Kuenssberg speaking to the chancellor at the site of the new Royal Navy frigate HMS Glasgow on the Clyde river

    Laura Kuenssberg first speaks to the chancellor at the site of the new Royal Navy frigate HMS Glasgow on the River Clyde.

    She asks him how he thinks his first Budget went.

    "Well, having got to the weekend - that's a result," he quips.

    Healey then adds he believes "people saw the choices he was making, which was to give households and businesses a bit of breathing space".

    Kuenssberg also asks the chancellor how he's found his job differing to his previous role as defence secretary.

    He replies by saying "I speak for the whole economy now" and promises the government will set out its longer-term spending plans next year, which will include plans to meet Nato spending targets.

    • At the 2025 Nato summit in the Hague, allies committed to investing 5% of GDP in defence - that includes at least 3.5% on “core defence” and up to 1.5% on “defence and security-related spending” which can include things like protecting critical infrastructure
  6. And we're off...published at 09:01 GMT

    This week's episode of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is just getting started.

    As a reminder, you can watch live at the top of the page.

    We'll also bring you the key lines here - stick with us.

  7. 'Not good enough': How Badenoch reacted to the Budgetpublished at 08:53 GMT

    Kemi Badenoch cups her ear as she addresses a Labour MP (not in vision) in the House of Commons.Image source, PA Media

    If you missed Wednesday's Budget, here's how Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch reacted:

    • Badenoch said the Budget was "not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough"
    • Next year the UK's tax burden would be "the highest in our country's history", she said, adding that the UK remained "overspent, overborrowed, overtaxed and drowning in an out-of-control welfare system"
    • Badenoch said there were "some things" in the Budget she welcomed, thanking the chancellor for "breaking Labour's pledge on the minimum wage for young people" and welcomed his "U-turn on Isas"
    • Badenoch ended her Commons response by saying "let's cut spending, cut the deficit, fund defence, cut people's taxes", and added that is what her party would have done and that will be the choice at the next election
  8. Labour pledges to reduce welfare bill - but won't commit to doing so before next electionpublished at 08:51 GMT

    Andy Burnham puts his arm around John Healey as they sit together on the front bench in the House of Commons, surrounded by other Labour MPs.Image source, Reuters

    Following Wednesday's Budget, the Conservatives reacted by accusing Labour of being "addicted to welfare".

    The Office for Budget Responsibility has said total welfare spending would grow from £334bn last year to £431bn by 2030.

    Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme in the hours after his first Budget, Chancellor John Healey said he would work to bring the welfare bill down.

    Asked whether there would be cuts in welfare before the next election, Healey said: "There will be. There will be a reduction in the benefits bill.

    "We'll do that in a Labour way and we'll do that because it is simply not good for Britain or progressive to have a bigger and bigger benefits bill."

    Several Treasury sources then took issue with this being interpreted as a promise to do so by the next election, with one suggesting Healey was explicitly attempting to avoid that impression being left.

    PM Andy Burnham was then asked about the issue on Thursday, saying he wanted to cut the welfare bill "as soon as we possibly can", but was unable to guarantee this would happen before the next election.

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  9. UK faces worst-ever decade for household income growth, warns IFSpublished at 08:41 GMT

    Wide angle image depicting a senior man's hand holding an energy bill while the other hand checks the numbers on a calculator. The table is strewn with documents and also a laptop.Image source, Getty Images

    In analysis presented the day after the Budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that the outlook for household income growth is "depressing".

    The think tank says the current decade is set to be the worst for household income growth on record.

    "No amount of temporary cost-of-living packages will fix that," says IFS director Helen Miller.

    Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation has said typical working-age households will see their disposable income fall by £1,050, or 3%, between now and 2029, calling the 2020s "an almost completely lost decade for living standards".

    The Office for Budget Responsibility - the UK's official forecaster - also says its latest economic forecast paints a "pretty grim picture", blaming higher borrowing costs and inflation caused by the US-Iran war.

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  10. Remind me, what was in the Budget?published at 08:32 GMT

    Healey billed his Budget as one that would give people "breathing space" on the cost of living.

    We've got a quick run down on some of the key measures revealed on Wednesday.

    A graphic begins with the title 'what has been announced?' green icons on the side include a house, a flame, a pound sign, a piggy bank and a petrol pump. beside the house says 'energy bill help', the flame has 'price of gas', the pound sign sits next to 'income boost' and the piggy bank says 'tax-free savings'. beside the petrol pump it reads 'fuel duty'.

    Other measures were also announced on housing, devolution and defence - we've got more on that here.

  11. Healey risks breaking minimum wage promise for younger workerspublished at 08:27 GMT

    Laura Kuenssberg
    Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

    Media caption,

    'One step at a time,' says Healey on closing the gap between older and younger workers

    Chancellor John Healey has suggested that younger workers might not receive the same minimum wage as others before the next election, potentially breaking a Labour manifesto promise.

    In 2024, Labour said it would remove "discriminatory age bands", vowing to end the gap between the adult minimum wage and pay for 18 to 20-year-olds.

    But in last week's Budget, Healey said that younger workers would see the same increase as older workers, leaving a gap between the two rates this year.

    Pay for 18 to 20-year-olds in 2026 will rise to £11.27, while over-20s will be paid a minimum of £13.21 an hour.

    In an interview to be broadcast this morning, Healey was asked if younger workers would be paid the same as older workers, when it comes to the minimum wage, by the time of the next election.

    "We'll take one step at a time," he said, suggesting that Labour might abandon its plan to close the gap before the next election.

    It is a change that is likely to anger the unions and some on the left of the party.

  12. Coming up on Sunday with Laura Kuenssbergpublished at 08:20 GMT

    We'll be hearing from John Healey, who delivered his first Budget as chancellor earlier in the week. He sat down with Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday morning.

    Also appearing on the show will be Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who was highly critical of the Budget on Wednesday.

    Taking part in Sunday's panel will be:

    • Tony Radakin, former chief of the defence staff
    • Andy Haldane, economist and former advisor to Andy Burnham
    • Nicola Sturgeon, former first minister of Scotland
  13. Chancellor faces Kuenssberg after 'breathing space' Budgetpublished at 08:12 GMT

    John Healey stands at the dispatch box as he delivers the Budget in the House of Commons wearing dark suit, white shirt and red tie. MPs can be seen sitting on the green benches behind him.Image source, House of Commons

    Laura Kuenssberg has spoken to Chancellor John Healey after he delivered his first Budget earlier this week.

    Measures announced in the "breathing space" Budget included a £100 energy support payment, an extension of the fuel duty freeze, and the scrapping of standing charges on gas bills.

    In the days since, the government has faced pressure to outline when it will get the benefits bill down, with the Conservatives accusing Labour of being "addicted to welfare".

    In a pre-recorded interview with Kuenssberg, the chancellor also faced questions over pay increases for youth after the Budget left a gap between the wage floor for younger and older workers despite a Labour pledge to close it.

    Also on the show this week is Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch; today's panel will be former defence chief Tony Radakin, economist Andy Haldane and former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

    You'll be able to watch above from 09:00 GMT when Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg begins.

    Stick with us for more Budget reaction in the meantime.