Healey unveils tariff cuts on marmalade and gherkins in pre-Budget cost-of-living package

Chancellor John Healey will announce a pre-Budget package of "everyday fixes" on Wednesday, including removing import tariffs on marmalade, gherkins, and over 100 other products to ease household cost-of-living pressures. The measures also include making permanent a 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate, introducing a taper for carer's allowance earnings limits, extending paternity pay to self-employed fathers, and adding hundreds of Post Office drop boxes. The government claims tariff suspensions could save households up to £21 annually. The Conservatives criticized the plan as inadequate, with Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith calling it "an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises." Healey attributed higher costs to global conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, saying the government aims to act where it can make a difference.