At least something is going down fast! Chancellor Healey necks a pint hours after tax-raising Budget that hit strivers

Published: 07:05 EDT, 29 October 2026 | Updated: 07:26 EDT, 29 October 2026 John Healey responded to claims he delivered a boring Budget last night, by downing a pint in front of whooping Treasury officials.The Chancellor performed the trick at a Westminster pub after spending an hour setting out Labour's new economic direction under the new leadership of Andy Burnham.Video posted on X by Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson showed him behind the bar of the nearby Two Chairmen, knocking back a pint of Chancellor's Choice before turning the glass over on his head to show it was empty. But the video of the revelry emerged as it was revealed households face being more than £1,000 worse off over the next two years as they are hammered by the energy crisis and Labour tax raids.The Resolution Foundation's chief executive Ruth Curtice said the Chancellor had done 'little to address the sharp challenges facing Britain' and support was spread 'too thin'.The Budget yesterday was 'scattergun', offering £100 off energy bills to homes in lower council tax bands, the think-tank boss said. The Chancellor performed the trick at a Westminster pub after spending an hour setting out Labour's new economic direction under the new leadership of Andy BurnhamShe warned that even those getting help – along with maintaining suspension of 5 per cent VAT on electricity costs – would face higher bills next year than they did during the last crisis in 2022. The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said the Budget's 'raft of fiddly measures' would do little to boost growth and warned it delayed tough decisions.Greg Thwaites, the think tank's interim chief economist, added that the energy bills payment of £100 for households in council tax bands A to D was 'a terribly badly targeted kind of support' as it would go to 'lots of people who are doing ok who probably can manage without that money' at a time 'when we don't have a lot of money to throw around'.He added: 'We would much rather the Government gave twice as much money to half as many people.'Mr Healey today hit back against accusations it was too modest, saying: 'I'd fundamentally contest that this is not a significant Budget.'Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the Budget was 'not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough', while Reform UK's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick described it as a 'nothing burger'.Mr Tomlinson posted the picture with the caption: 'The boss seeing off a pint of Chancellor's Choice after a long day at the office.'But Tory peer Lord Jackson of Peterborough said: 'He looks like a bit of a wally.'The 4 per cent pale ale was brewed by the Chantry Brewery in Mr Healey's Rotherham constituency to celebrate a cut in business rates for pubs.