Daily Express, on UK Politics, 28 October 2026

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Martin Lewis gives one-word verdict on Budget after meeting John Healey

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Martin Lewis gives one-word verdict on Budget after meeting John Healey Money expert Martin Lewis has reacted to the changes. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments By Alex Evans , Deputy Audience Editor 09:11, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Updated: 10:28, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Martin Lewis has met John Healey this morning (Image: ITVX) Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has given his early Budget verdict after a meeting with Chancellor John Healey this morning ahead of the speech to Parliament this afternoon.

Martin Lewis summed up his feelings on plans to axe standing charges from gas as “pleased”. He said John Healey’s plan to axe standing charges on gas bills should also lead to a further Budget intervention on household energy bills, which are forecast to soar in January. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT The MoneySavingExpert founder, who had been in No 11 on the morning of the fiscal statement, said on X: “I’ve just come out of a meeting with the Chancellor.

“The gas standing charge will be scrapped in 2027 (my guess, either for 1 Oct price cap or the 1 Jan 28 price cap). Get personal finance news, money saving tips and advice plus selcted offers and competitions I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family . Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you.

This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . “Having campaigned against the moral hazard of standing charges for years, I’m pleased. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “It’s currently £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. We don’t know how much yet, but I suspect just under 1p per kwH. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “The Chancellor also said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is ‘trickier’ apparently and will take longer.”

Mr Lewis said “about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more”, with the dividing line “somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas,” as he called for support for vulnerable higher users who will have to pay more. He continued: “That’s all long-term. The biggest issue in energy right now is that we’re expecting a 27% rise in the price cap in January. “I asked the Chancellor whether he will be intervening on that. He told me I’d have to wait for the Budget, but reading between the lines, yes, there will be an announcement today.

“Whether it’s an increase in the warm home discount, or whether it’s council tax (band-related), or whether it’s done via a payout for people in say council tax bands A-D as a proxy for household income as Rishi Sunak did who knows.” Labour's Cash ISA u-turn blasted as 'deeply misguided' as Reeves plan faces axe The standing charge is the daily amount paid on bills to have a gas or electricity supply.

Currently 29p per day in the October 1 price cap, it means even low energy users are paying £108 a year before they have even used any gas, and can't reduce the amount by using less. Martin Lewis Energy bills Gas Budget 2026 Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments

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What we found (1)

The Daily Express reports Martin Lewis's reaction, after meeting Chancellor John Healey, to the plan to scrap the gas standing charge, quoting his own words at length, including that the cost moves onto unit rates and that about 40% of people will pay more. One embedded link line calls the change a £108 cut to gas bills, which the article's own quotes contradict. Otherwise nothing in it misleads.

  1. Uses figures that mislead

    Minor

    “Martin Lewis confirms £108 gas bills cut after standing charge change”

    Why this matters
    The words "£108 gas bills cut" present the full annual standing charge as a saving on every gas bill, and put it in Martin Lewis's mouth as something he "confirms".
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes gas bills will fall by £108 a year once the standing charge goes.
    The context
    Lewis says in the same article that the £108 will be shifted onto unit rates and that about 40% of people will pay more. Metro reports the Treasury's figure of an average saving of £45 for 60% of households. The line appears as a link to another article, but it sits in this article's body.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

What it gets right

  • “Mr Lewis said “about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more”, with the dividing line “somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas,””

    The article reports that the change creates losers as well as winners and gives the threshold, so a reader learns it is not a saving for everyone.

  • “That cost will be shifted onto unit rates.”

    The article quotes Lewis explaining that the charge is moved, not removed, so the reader understands how the change works.

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