'An insult to families': Labour Budget food price cuts will save just 40p a week and amount to 'little more than cheaper gherkins'

Published: 08:17 EDT, 27 October 2026 | Updated: 08:38 EDT, 27 October 2026 A Cabinet minister today defended an 'insulting' Labour cost of living drive to trim pennies off beans and gherkins.Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged cutting import tariffs on such products was 'not everything'.But he argued that even though they were 'not huge reductions' being announced ahead of the Budget, they would help households.The Tories pointed out that the saving could amount to just 40p a week, while energy bills and inflation spike.The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has warned that families face being up to £770 a year worse off by the end of this Parliament. The changes - described as 'everyday fixes' – are part of Andy Burnham's bid to give people 'breathing space', including axing the 5 per cent VAT on electricity bills. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged cutting import tariffs on products such as beans, chocolate and gherkins was 'not everything' Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith joked that it was 'gherkinomics'Parental pay will be extended to a further 150,000 fathers or partners.That includes the self-employed who were not previously eligible – they will now receive two weeks of support worth nearly £400.Support will also be given to farmers facing higher fertiliser bills and households that rely on kerosene heating oil.Other interventions include attempts to help those who drive for work by not increasing taxes on the mileage-free rate. The Treasury said it would maintain the tax-free rate at 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and increase the rate above this from 25p to 35p per mile.Pressed on BBC Breakfast about the scale of the savings, Mr Reynolds said: 'We recognise the pressure that people are under and what we need to get across to people is yes there are a lot of pressures... but we are not powerless.'We can as well as confront these big issues also deal with these things... I do think that is important for a Government.'Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said: 'Prices up. Energy bills up. Mortgages up. The country's tax burden and borrowing at record highs. 'I love a good gherkin, but the government's response is not equal to the scale of the challenges.'He added: '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.' Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said including gherkins in the list could be an 'own goal' because it 'risks reducing the measures to a cheap joke'.'The problem is that given the pressure households are under, many people will feel these small tweaks are nowhere near enough to tackle major problems,' she said. 'It's hard to know how much difference the food import tax cut will make to prices on the shelves, because it will depend on how much of the saving is passed on. 'Meanwhile, the British Retail Consortium said this morning that food price inflation has risen to 2.9 per cent, so there's a risk those savings will disappear in a tide of rising prices.'