By Alex Wickham | Updated on Oct 06, 2026 at 09:37 AM
The UK government could publish a crucial spending plan in the second half of next year, despite expectations that it would be held in the spring or early summer.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey’s spending review will allocate budgets for departments including defense, a tricky area for the Labour government as it needs to find billions of pounds to bulk up Britain’s military.
The Times newspaper reported late on Monday that Healey is considering holding the spending review in the fall of 2027. The last spending review was held in June 2025 by Healey’s predecessor, Rachel Reeves, and the Treasury has committed to publishing the reviews “every two calendar years.”
After becoming chancellor in 2024, Reeves promised that Labour would hold timely spending reviews “to avoid uncertainty for departments and to bring stability to the public finances.” The 2027 spending review will set budgets for three financial years, starting in April 2028.
Treasury officials said Tuesday that they had never set a date for the review. It has to take place by the end of 2027, they added, but the date has yet to be decided. A Treasury spokesperson said the Times story was speculation.
If the Treasury were to hold the review in the second half of next year rather than the spring, it would likely fuel criticism from opposition parties that it is deferring major decisions. A review in the fall of 2027 could coincide with that year’s budget, allowing Healey to raise taxes or cut spending in other areas to raise more funds for defense.
Healey has said Britain needs to spend the equivalent of 3% of gross domestic output on defense by 2030, which would require around £15 billion ($19.8 billion) a year of extra spending.
In a speech to Labour’s annual conference last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham set out long-term plans for the country including an elder care policy due to be implemented over the next 14 years and a plan to reassess the relationship with the European Union which could even end up in a bid to rejoin to bloc.
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However, there were few game-chancing policies announced that would make a difference for Britons before the next general election, due in 2029.