Commercial Director & MD, politico, Views expressed are my own. RT not an endorsement.
Preston Lancashire UK
Joined July 2011
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Warren Bennett retweeted
In her response to the Budget, Kemi Badenoch not only blasted it to kingdom come, but gave the speech of a future Prime Minister. My article in the Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/gift/1eafcc2…
Warren Bennett retweeted
Just another Labour lie…
Warren Bennett retweeted
An enterprising opposition would UQ this astonishing breach of convention. Lewis says he's a journalist, but no journalist would blab about a pre-briefing hours before the budget is delivered. This man is regarded as some sort of saint, but he seems utterly unaccountable to anyone. Parliament should step in
CONFIRMED. Gas Standing Charges to be scrapped. I've just come out of a meeting with the Chancellor. The gas standing charge will be scrapped in 2027 (my guess, either for 1 Oct price cap or the 1 Jan 28 price cap). Having campaigned against the moral hazard of standing charges for years, I'm pleased.
It's currently £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. We don't know how much yet, but I suspect just under 1p per kwH.
The Chancellor also said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is 'trickier' apparently and will take longer.
This is primarily about the price cap standing charges. There will still be an open market, so other firms can offer other forms of prices with or without the standing charge. My suspicion is that once it goes on the price cap, it will tend to be reduced on other tariffs as well.
As for those on fixes: if you get a fix now, the rate of your fix is fixed, so this should not affect it. You will pay what you pay and if it has standing charges they will continue (some asking if they should delay fixing because of this, no if a fix is right for you and will save you money, don't let this change that - this is about the structure of bills, as opposed to the actual costs on bills).
About 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more. My guesstimate is the dividing line will be somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas (can't know until there is actual pricing). According to a study by Nesta, this switch would leave the majority of people in all income groups under £100,000 better off.
Of course, when this does come in, if we're still in the nightmare that we are right now, there will need to be support put in for vulnerable higher users, who will have to pay more. Though hopefully by then the mid-east will have calmed and energy prices lower.
---------------
That's all long term. The biggest issue in energy right now is that we're expecting a 27% rise in the price cap in January. I asked the Chancellor whether he will be intervening on that. He told me I'd have to wait for the budget, but reading between the lines, yes, there will be an announcement today.
Whether it's an increase in the Warm Home Discount, or whether it's council tax banned, or whether it's done via a payout for people in say council tax bands A-D as a proxy for household income as Rishi Sunak did who knows.
Warren Bennett retweeted
Big row potentially brewing on defence…
Tories alleging that Healey - the man of principle who quit over DIP - might actually be *cutting* defence spending
In the next two financial years, the budget for the MOD will be £1bn a year less than Rachel Reeves planned when the DIP was published in June.
The total departmental spending can be calculated from the Budget Red Book pages 145-147. When compared to the DIP settlement, the Tories claim it shows that Labour are cutting £1bn a year from the MOD budget for the next two years.
Why? It appears that they are forecast to spend less than expected on pensions. Rather than the MOD being allowed to reuse this Resource Department Expenditure Limit, the Treasury has kept it
Cartlidge: “This is a complete dereliction of duty from the Chancellor”
Warren Bennett retweeted
A bitterly disappointing budget for #pubs.
Considering the Prime Minister’s claim that “cavalry is coming” for pubs, what happened? Who ambushed them?!
Not only no real help but #Budget2026 increases costs for at least 95% of UK pubs.
As bad as any budget in recent years.
Warren Bennett retweeted
@KemiBadenoch wiping the floor with him - about his failure today to do on defence spending what he said in June was essential.
Warren Bennett retweeted
I’m wondering where the cavalry for hospitality is @andyburnham ?
Don’t talk about business rates. Removing business rates for those rates under 18k is a JOKE when our rates were changed from 18.5 to 73.5k less than a year ago!!
I’m sure @LindsayHoyle_MP will be delighted 🙄
CONFIRMED. Gas Standing Charges to be scrapped. I've just come out of a meeting with the Chancellor. The gas standing charge will be scrapped in 2027 (my guess, either for 1 Oct price cap or the 1 Jan 28 price cap). Having campaigned against the moral hazard of standing charges for years, I'm pleased.
It's currently £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. We don't know how much yet, but I suspect just under 1p per kwH.
The Chancellor also said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is 'trickier' apparently and will take longer.
This is primarily about the price cap standing charges. There will still be an open market, so other firms can offer other forms of prices with or without the standing charge. My suspicion is that once it goes on the price cap, it will tend to be reduced on other tariffs as well.
As for those on fixes: if you get a fix now, the rate of your fix is fixed, so this should not affect it. You will pay what you pay and if it has standing charges they will continue (some asking if they should delay fixing because of this, no if a fix is right for you and will save you money, don't let this change that - this is about the structure of bills, as opposed to the actual costs on bills).
About 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more. My guesstimate is the dividing line will be somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas (can't know until there is actual pricing). According to a study by Nesta, this switch would leave the majority of people in all income groups under £100,000 better off.
Of course, when this does come in, if we're still in the nightmare that we are right now, there will need to be support put in for vulnerable higher users, who will have to pay more. Though hopefully by then the mid-east will have calmed and energy prices lower.
---------------
That's all long term. The biggest issue in energy right now is that we're expecting a 27% rise in the price cap in January. I asked the Chancellor whether he will be intervening on that. He told me I'd have to wait for the budget, but reading between the lines, yes, there will be an announcement today.
Whether it's an increase in the Warm Home Discount, or whether it's council tax banned, or whether it's done via a payout for people in say council tax bands A-D as a proxy for household income as Rishi Sunak did who knows.
Warren Bennett retweeted
So inept idiot John Healey is about to increase duty on a pint from 50p to 52p.
Why can’t he slap taxes on sweet shops, vape shops, Kurdish barbers, nail bars and tattoo parlours instead?
Not to mention those several, vast sweet shops on Oxford Street and across London.
They’re money laundering operations!
Labour claims to be the party of workers but fuel, beer, food, and energy costs have all risen under their rule.
Warren Bennett retweeted
Chancellor John Healey is set to hike alcohol duty and slap 2p on every pint in the Budget. 🍺
The government takes over 10 times more than the pub owner. The cost of living crisis is a cost of government taxation of small businesses crisis.
Warren Bennett retweeted
I swear they better pull a rabbit of a hat tomorrow when it comes to hospitality or the sector is dead.
#cutvat #vatstheproblem #budget2026
Warren Bennett retweeted
The pre-pandemic rate was £8.21/hour; £13.20/hour represents a more than 60% increase in five years.
People keep saying businesses who can't pay it shouldn't employ people.
So they're not.
EXCLUSIVE
John Healey will announce plans to increase the minimum wage by nearly 4 per cent but slow the rise for young people after warnings that they are being priced out of jobs
The Times has been told that the national living wage, which applies to those aged 21 and over, is expected to rise from £12.71 to around £13.20 — an increase of 3.9 per cent
However, Healey has decided not to repeat the big rises of the past two budgets in the national minimum wage, which applies to those aged 18 to 21
It will rise broadly in line with the rate for older workers - from £10.85 to around £11.27, an increase of 3.9 per cent
It effectively spells the end of Labour’s manifesto pledge to bring the “discriminatory” minimum wage for young people into line with the living wage for older workers in this parliament
The minimum wage increased by 26 per cent between 2025 and 2026, leading to stark warnings from employers that it risked impeding efforts to get 1 million “Neets” - young people not in education, employment or training - into work.
Healey alluded to the approach in an interview with The Times last week, in which he spoke of the importance of the “trade-off between the level of the minimum wage and the employment rate”
thetimes.com/article/c9142a2…
Clueless, compounding the devastation the two Reeve’s budgets had on the hospitality sector and NEETs.
The government acknowledges inflation is a huge problem, this is double the target rate.
Everything this government does is inflationary pushing up the cost of living.
EXCLUSIVE
John Healey will announce plans to increase the minimum wage by nearly 4 per cent but slow the rise for young people after warnings that they are being priced out of jobs
The Times has been told that the national living wage, which applies to those aged 21 and over, is expected to rise from £12.71 to around £13.20 — an increase of 3.9 per cent
However, Healey has decided not to repeat the big rises of the past two budgets in the national minimum wage, which applies to those aged 18 to 21
It will rise broadly in line with the rate for older workers - from £10.85 to around £11.27, an increase of 3.9 per cent
It effectively spells the end of Labour’s manifesto pledge to bring the “discriminatory” minimum wage for young people into line with the living wage for older workers in this parliament
The minimum wage increased by 26 per cent between 2025 and 2026, leading to stark warnings from employers that it risked impeding efforts to get 1 million “Neets” - young people not in education, employment or training - into work.
Healey alluded to the approach in an interview with The Times last week, in which he spoke of the importance of the “trade-off between the level of the minimum wage and the employment rate”
thetimes.com/article/c9142a2…
Warren Bennett retweeted
How any Chancellor can look at the state of the economy, the job losses, struggling businesses and sectors like Hospitality, and think, let’s increase their wage bills AGAIN… is totally beyond me.
This is a deliberate demolition of small businesses.
RIP THE ECONOMY 🪦
EXCLUSIVE
John Healey will announce plans to increase the minimum wage by nearly 4 per cent but slow the rise for young people after warnings that they are being priced out of jobs
The Times has been told that the national living wage, which applies to those aged 21 and over, is expected to rise from £12.71 to around £13.20 — an increase of 3.9 per cent
However, Healey has decided not to repeat the big rises of the past two budgets in the national minimum wage, which applies to those aged 18 to 21
It will rise broadly in line with the rate for older workers - from £10.85 to around £11.27, an increase of 3.9 per cent
It effectively spells the end of Labour’s manifesto pledge to bring the “discriminatory” minimum wage for young people into line with the living wage for older workers in this parliament
The minimum wage increased by 26 per cent between 2025 and 2026, leading to stark warnings from employers that it risked impeding efforts to get 1 million “Neets” - young people not in education, employment or training - into work.
Healey alluded to the approach in an interview with The Times last week, in which he spoke of the importance of the “trade-off between the level of the minimum wage and the employment rate”
thetimes.com/article/c9142a2…
Warren Bennett retweeted
When politicians like Angela Rayner talk about “an honest conversation” that means lying through her teeth.
Warren Bennett retweeted
Angela Rayner can’t name a single pound of spending that Labour will cut - not one! 🤯
We are £3 trillion in debt, borrowing more just to pay the interest.
Get a grip.
