2 in 3 Brits expect 2025 Budget to hit their wallets

Two thirds of Brits expect the measures announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 to negatively impact their disposable income according to research from national financial advice firm Continuum.

A total of 63% of 2,181 UK adults surveyed in December said they expect the measures announced by Rachel Reeves will lead to a drop in their disposable income, with a fifth (21%) saying they expect their disposable income will drop considerably.

Just 2% of those surveyed expected their disposable income to rise following the Budget.

Brits saving plans have also been impacted by the measures announced in the Budget, with 25% saying they expect to cut back on the amount they are saving. Just 15% expected to be able to save more as a result.

Martin Brown, Managing Partner at Continuum, said the data demonstrates that the measures from the latest Budget are likely to lead to the majority of Brits cutting back on their spending at a time when the Government needs people to be spending more to boost the economy.

He said: “Now that the dust has settled following the Autumn Budget, we are now waiting the see the very real impact the Brits are expecting it to have on their day-to-day finances. The impact of the cost of living crisis continues to hit many of us, and our data shows that well over half of us expect to have to cut back further in order to make ends meet.

“If the UK economy is to have the 2026 year of recovery that Rachel Reeves is hoping for, she needs to be encouraging Brits to go out and spend more but her latest measures seem likely to lead to a drop in spending. It will be interesting to see how she plans on counteracting this.”

The impact of the Budget on savings plans and disposable income differed dependent on the area of resident of respondents.

Do you expect the measures announced in the Budget to make a difference to your disposable income?

Northern Irish savers’ plans were most heavily impacted by the Budget. Almost three quarters (72%) said they expect to have less disposable income, with 34% planning to cut back on the amount they are saving.

Scots were the least impacted by measures announced by Rachel Reeves. However, the impact expected is still considerable, with 59% of Scots expecting to less disposable income and 20% expecting to save less as a result of the Budget.

Within England, those in the Midlands were most likely to be impacted by the Budget. Two thirds (65%) of those surveyed in the region expected to have less disposable income, with 27% expecting to save less.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the impact of the Budget on the disposable income on Labour voters was less marked than for supporters of other political parties. Just over half (55%) of Labour voters expected to have less disposable income following the Budget, in comparison to 79% of Conservative voters and 81% of Reform UK voters.

YouGov surveyed 2,181 adults in the UK on behalf of Continuum between 1^st and 2^nd December 2025.