Chancellor John Healey will remove import tariffs on marmalade, gherkins and more than 100 other products ahead of Wednesday's Budget, aiming to reduce household costs by up to £21 per year when combined with existing suspensions on goods like pasta, fruit juice and tuna. The tariff removal includes suspending a 20% levy plus a £19 per 100kg charge on marmalade.
Healey framed the measures as responses to global pressures. He said that wars in Iran and Ukraine had "hit families here at home through higher everyday costs" and that while the government cannot control global events, it can act where differences matter.
The Budget package also includes several support measures. The government will make permanent a 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with rates rising to 35p per mile above that threshold. Carers will gain the ability to earn more without losing their entire allowance, with new taper rules replacing the existing cliff-edge mechanism. Self-employed fathers will receive two weeks of paternity pay, previously unavailable to them at up to £194 weekly. The government plans to roll out additional Post Office drop boxes for parcel shipping.
Fuel duty will be frozen again, with a 5p discount continuing. That discount was introduced in 2022 for one year but has been repeatedly extended.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the changes address "everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren't fair" for nurses driving for work, parents taking paternity leave and unpaid carers.
The Conservative opposition rejected the approach. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith called the tariff removals "an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises," arguing that any savings have been erased by higher borrowing costs, taxes and inflation.