Up to £21 a Year and Cheaper Gherkins: Labour Calls It ‘Breathing Space’

News | By Matt, Editor

Chancellor John Healey has cut import tariffs on more than 100 products, from garlic and gherkins to marmalade, boiled sweets and plant-based drinks. The Government says that, together with tariff cuts already made this year, households “could save up to £21 on their food shop each year”. (HM Treasury)

That is about 40p a week, as the BBC worked out. (BBC News) Mr Healey calls it “a bit of breathing space”. The same week, the British Retail Consortium said shop prices are rising at their fastest in two and a half years. (BRC)

The news, without the gloss

The Healey tariff cuts are one of five “everyday fixes” HM Treasury announced on Monday night (26 October), two days before the Budget. (HM Treasury) The other four are:

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• making the 55p-a-mile rate for the first 10,000 business miles permanent, and raising the rate above 10,000 miles from 25p to 35p;
• two weeks of parental pay, worth up to £194 a week, for more than 150,000 more parents;
• replacing the Carer’s Allowance “cliff edge” with a £1-for-£1 taper;
• more Post Office parcel drop boxes, rising to 1,000.

Some of the goods on the tariff list, and the duty taken off each one (HM Treasury):

• citrus jams, marmalades and pastes: 20% plus £19 per 100kg;
• garlic: 8% plus £100 per 100kg;
• gherkins: 12%;
• boiled sweets, toffees and throat pastilles: 8%;
• plant-based drinks and chocolate-coated wafers: 8%;
• kerosene: 4%, and fertilisers: 2% to 6.5%.

This is the second tariff package this year. The first, in June, covered pasta, fruit juice and tuna. The Treasury says the two together are worth “approximately £245 million to £595 million a year”. (HM Treasury) The full product list is due to be published on Wednesday. (BBC News)

What they said

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the changes “will make life a little easier and put more money back in your pocket.” (HM Treasury)

Mr Healey said: “Today’s everyday fixes are just a small part of what we are doing to give families a bit of breathing space. Conflict in the Middle East and Europe is hitting families here at home through higher everyday costs. We can’t control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference.” (HM Treasury)

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC: “We’re not going to say it is everything.” (BBC News)

What families are actually facing

The British Retail Consortium’s monitor for early October found shop price inflation at 2.1%, up from 1.4%. Food inflation rose to 2.9%. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “The dam is starting to break on the huge wave of costs retailers have absorbed over the last two years.” (BRC)

Official CPI inflation rose to 3.5% in September, up from 3.1%. Transport costs were up 6.6% on a year earlier. (ONS) Diesel hit a record high of more than £2 a litre this month, according to the RAC. (BBC News) Hauliers want a fuel duty cut. (BBN)

Ofgem’s price cap went up 4% on 1 October, from £1,663 to £1,723 a year for a typical household. That is £60 more. (Ofgem) Labour promised Great British Energy would “cut bills for good”. (Labour Party)

Food banks in the Trussell network gave out more than 2.6 million emergency food parcels in 2025. That is 45% more than before the pandemic, and 62% went to families with children. (Trussell)

The record in numbers

Measure	Figure	Source
Most a household could save from tariff cuts	Up to £21 a year (about 40p a week)	HM Treasury; BBC
Average household spend on food and soft drinks	£73.70 a week (about £3,832 a year)	ONS, FYE 2025
Extra cost of that food shop at 1.3% food inflation	About £50 a year	BBN calculation from ONS
Extra cost at 2.9% food inflation	About £111 a year	BBN calculation from ONS and BRC
Energy price cap rise on 1 October	£60 a year	Ofgem
CPI inflation, September 2026	3.5%	ONS
Shop price inflation, early October 2026	2.1%, the highest in two and a half years	BRC
Food bank parcels in 2025	More than 2.6 million	Trussell

The tax side of the ledger

Employer National Insurance went up from 13.8% to 15% in April 2025, and the threshold where it starts fell from £9,100 to £5,000. (GOV.UK) The BRC says retailers “cannot endlessly swallow higher business rates, employment costs, energy bills, and packaging taxes.” (BRC) Income tax and National Insurance thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031, so more pay is taxed every year as wages rise. (GOV.UK)

Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said: “Shoppers face rising costs at the till and families are struggling to make ends meet, but Burnham’s plan is cheaper gherkins. This is an insult to families hammered by Labour’s tax rises.” (BBC News)

Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick wrote on X: “A Reform UK budget would cut waste and raise the tax free allowance to £15,000. John Healey will cut the cost of gherkins.” (X) Reform set out its own plans on Monday. (BBN)

It was not only the opposition. Unison welcomed the mileage change, but general secretary Andrea Egan warned that “the cost of essentials, including food and fuel, is going to keep soaring, meaning breathing space will quickly be closed down.” (The Guardian) On social media, one reply quoted by GB News read: “We want cheap beef, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, bread. Nobody cares about gherkins and marmalade.” (GB News)

The fair points

The cuts are real. Duty is coming off more than 100 products, and some rates were high: 20% plus a weight charge on marmalade. (HM Treasury)

But the £21 is the Government’s own estimate, and it is an “up to” figure for both packages together. Whether shoppers see any of it depends on supermarkets and suppliers passing the saving on.

Labour’s defence is that this is one part of a wider package. Mr Healey blames global conflict for higher costs. Mr Reynolds admits it is not “everything”, and puts the value at around £500 million a year. (BBC News) A Treasury spokesperson points to VAT being taken off electricity bills, a £2 bus fare cap in 2027, the extended 5p fuel duty cut and frozen rail fares and prescription charges. (BBC News) VAT on electricity is off from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. (Ofgem)

There is also a Brexit point Labour won’t make. Britain can only set its own tariffs on marmalade and gherkins because it has left the EU and its common external tariff. (European Commission) The Government is using a Brexit freedom, and using it on gherkins.

What happens next

The Budget is on Wednesday 28 October. The BBC understands fuel duty will be frozen again, and the 5p cut kept. (BBC News) That has not been confirmed. The full tariff list is due the same day. (BBC News) The next ONS inflation figures are due on 18 November. (ONS) On fuel, see our report on the carbon charge row. (BBN)

Verdict

This is opinion, built on the record above.

Families are paying more for food, fuel and energy, and more of their wages go in tax every year because the thresholds are frozen. Labour’s answer, two days before the Budget, is up to 40p a week, and only if the shops pass it on. On Ofgem’s figures, the October rise in the energy price cap alone wipes that out almost three times over.

A bit of breathing space? It is peanuts, and we are being told to be grateful for it. If the Chancellor wants to give households real breathing space, the place to start is the tax they pay on their wages.

Frequently asked questions

How much will the Healey tariff cuts save?

The Government says households could save up to £21 a year on their food shop, counting this package and the June package together. That is about 40p a week. (HM Treasury; BBC News)

Which products are covered?

More than 100 products, including garlic, gherkins, citrus jams and marmalades, boiled sweets, toffees, throat pastilles, plant-based drinks, kerosene and some fertilisers. The full list is due with the Budget. (HM Treasury)

Will prices actually fall?

Only if retailers and suppliers pass the lower duty on to shoppers. The £21 is a Government estimate, not a guarantee.

Could the UK do this inside the EU?

No. EU members share one common external tariff set in Brussels, so the UK could not cut tariffs on its own. (European Commission)

Sources

• HM Treasury, 26 October 2026: Everyday fixes to make life easier for millions of Britons
• BBC News, 26 October 2026: Chancellor to cut tariffs on some food and freeze fuel duty to give families ‘breathing space’
• BBC News, 27 October 2026: Budget 2026: East Grinstead calls for help on fuel costs and high street
• GB News, 27 October 2026: Budget 2026: John Healey to save families just £21 a year with tariff changes on foods like marmalade and gherkins
• The Guardian, 27 October 2026: UK politics live: Tories dismiss PM’s budget ‘everyday fixes’ as little more than ‘cheaper gherkins’
• GOV.UK: Changes to employer National Insurance contributions from 6 April 2025
• British Retail Consortium, 27 October 2026: Budget must stop rising costs feeding inflation
• ONS, 21 October 2026: Consumer price inflation, UK: September 2026
• ONS, 11 June 2026: Family spending in the UK: April 2024 to March 2025
• Ofgem, 26 August 2026: Energy price cap will rise 4% in October 2026
• Trussell, 11 March 2026: Food banks provide over 2.6 million food parcels
• GOV.UK: Maintaining income tax and equivalent NICs thresholds until 5 April 2031
• GOV.UK, 27 May 2026: Millions to benefit from lower travel and food costs
• Politico, 26 October 2026: UK announces further tariff suspensions on food, drink and fuel
• Robert Jenrick on X, 27 October 2026: Post on Reform’s budget and gherkins
• Labour Party, 2024: Make Britain a clean energy superpower
• European Commission: EU Customs Union: facts and figures