John Healey

Money Moves

Was scheduled to present his first annual budget on October 28, 2026; outcome not yet reported.

British households borrowed £2.7 billion in unsecured credit in August, revised up from a first estimate of £2.46 billion and a monthly record in the Bank of England's series, which began in 1993. In September, unsecured lending slowed to £1.9 billion, slightly below forecasts, but its annual growth rate reached 9.8%, the fastest since April 2018.

Updated Nov 1

Money Moves

Delivered the autumn Budget on 28 October 2026

Households across the UK can now borrow £7,500 to £35,000 at zero or low interest to install a heat pump, solar panels or a battery, with no upfront cash. Ten lenders began offering the government-backed Warm Homes loans on 27 October, and the discounts are steep: E.ON Next customers can get 0% APR through HomeServe Finance, and The Money Co-op lends at 2.7%.

Updated Oct 30

Money Moves

Announced MDM treaty talks and 1% capital cuts in his first Budget on October 28, 2026

Britain will not join the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), ending talks to merge the two countries' defence financing efforts. Reuters reported the sides could not agree on the bank's headquarters, the level of joint procurement, lending to members, or rules for new members.

Updated Oct 29

Force in Play

As of July 2026: Appointed Chancellor on July 20

Keir Starmer resigned on June 22, 2026, after Labour lost more than 1,000 council seats in May. Andy Burnham ran unopposed to replace him, winning 379 of 403 Labour MPs' nominations—the highest share in modern party history. On July 20, he met King Charles III and became the UK's seventh prime minister in a decade.

Updated Jul 20

Money Moves

As of June 2026: Resigned June 11, 2026

Britain's top uniformed officer told the House of Lords on June 16 that the armed forces will have to 'dial back' operations, training, and exercises if funding does not rise. Chief of the Defence Staff Rich Knighton said day-to-day budgets are losing ground to capital spending. The split was 80/20 twenty years ago; on current projections it reaches 50/50 by 2030.

Updated Jun 22

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Lead UK minister on AUKUS implementation

The Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) pact, unveiled in September 2021, promised nuclear-powered submarines not arriving in Australia until at least 2032. Five years on, the partnership has finally produced a piece of joint hardware, and it is not a submarine.

Updated May 31

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Set to co-chair first 40-nation coalition defence ministers' meeting alongside French counterpart Catherine Vautrin

Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, after US-Israeli strikes, cutting off roughly a fifth of global oil supply. The US-Iran ceasefire, extended by Trump on April 21, holds formally. But Iran's May 10 counter-proposal demanded Iranian sovereignty over the strait, an end to all US sanctions, and an immediate lifting of the naval blockade. Trump called the response "totally unacceptable," and roughly 1,500 commercial vessels remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Leading UK defense coordination with NATO Arctic Sentry

Britain is sending its largest warship to the Arctic. On February 14, 2026, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced at the Munich Security Conference that HMS Prince of Wales will lead a carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and High North—Operation Firecrest—operating alongside the United States, Canada, and Nordic allies under NATO's new Arctic Sentry mission.

Updated May 29