Autumn Budget 2026: New Chancellor, same challenges

The Chancellor will deliver the Budget on 28 October against a challenging global backdrop.

Higher borrowing costs have constrained the government’s room for manoeuvre leaving a challenging balance between fiscal credibility, spending, taxation and economic growth.

In this article, Jack Richards looks at the options available and what the Budget could mean for investors.

This includes:

• Higher borrowing costs and other economic developments have reduced the government’s fiscal headroom since the Spring, although it is still expected to retain a buffer against its fiscal rules.
• The Chancellor must balance fiscal credibility against the economic and political costs of higher taxes or lower spending. This is likely to be a smaller fiscal event than recent Budgets.
• Gilts and sterling are most exposed to Budget-day volatility. However, the global diversification of our portfolios should limit the direct impact, and we do not anticipate making portfolio changes solely because of the Budget.

Read the full article here