Two years ago, Rachel Reeves promised to deliver “the most pro-growth Treasury in our country’s history”. But in her first Budget in October 2024, hamstrung by a manifesto pledge not to raise taxes on “working people”, the Labour government’s then chancellor raised employer national insurance (NIC), lowered the employer NIC threshold and raised capital gains tax (CGT), alongside a 6.7% rise in the national living wage. Her second Budget in 2025 cut tax relief for capital expenditure.

Construction has struggled since. The S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index peaked at 57.2 in September 2024, a month before Reeves’ first Budget, fell to 44.6 by February 2025 and has stayed below the no-change mark of 50 ever since, reaching a low of 38.2 in May 2026. Building safety regulation and this year’s Iran conflict have added to the strain.

John Healey and Andy Burnham have both met business leaders to reassure them, with Burnham reported to have said he wanted the UK to be the most “pro-business country in the world”. Reports this week that Healey has ruled out a CGT rise, against the advice of some cabinet ministers, suggest he is listening.

He is also expected to set out details of the Your First Home scheme, which will let first-time buyers purchase a new-build home with a 2.5% deposit and a 20% government equity loan. But a reported plan to increase tax on banks could push up the cost of borrowing, a risk for the capital-intensive and debt-dependent property development sector.

With a week to go before Healey and Burnham’s first fiscal event, we asked for the views of industry bosses and trade bodies, putting three core questions to them: what their biggest cost pressures are, what Healey could do to help, and what the nightmarescenario would be.  

…