Healey vows cheaper marmalade and gherkins in pre-Budget package of 'everyday fixes'

John Healey will remove import taxes on marmalade, gherkins and more than 100 products in a bid to give families "breathing space" with the cost of living at the Budget.

The chancellor on Wednesday will promise a fresh series of "everyday fixes" to ease the pressure on households.

The measures will also include an end to the so-called cliff-edge for those receiving carer's allowance payments and higher tax-free mileage rates being made permanent.

But the Conservatives said the offer of "cheaper gherkins" was "an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises".

Ahead of the Budget, the government said it is removing tariffs on more than 100 "family favourite" products, while supporting farmers facing higher fertiliser costs and households reliant on heating oil.

The government says the changes could save households up to £21 per year when combined with existing tariff suspensions on products including pasta, fruit juice and tuna.

Marmalade, for example, will see a 20% tariff, plus an additional £19 charge per 100kg imported, suspended.

Healey said the ongoing wars in Iran and Ukraine had "hit families here at home through higher everyday costs".

"We can't control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference," he added.

Other measures the government announced include:

• Making permanent a 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with the rate rising from 25p per mile to 35p above that
• Allowing carers to earn more than an existing earnings limit without losing their entire allowance, replacing it with a taper mechanism instead
• Giving two weeks of paternity pay to self-employed fathers, who have previously missed out on payments of up to £194 a week for the period
• And rolling out hundreds of additional Post Office drop boxes to make sending parcels easier

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "We are taking on the big challenges facing the country. But that doesn't mean losing sight of the everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren't fair.

"If you're a nurse driving for work, a parent spending those precious first weeks with your new baby, or an unpaid carer picking up an extra shift, these changes will make life a little easier and put more money back in your pocket."

But the Conservatives said Burnham's "everyday fixes" have already been wiped out by higher borrowing costs, taxes and inflation.

Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said: "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."