Gherkins and guffawing: Watching my first Budget, an idiot’s blow-by-blow account

Culture writer Adam Bloodworth tried to watch the Budget 2026 in full. From the famous 4p off gherkins to the pantomime jibes, he struggled to keep pace with the childish politicians I am an alien in the City AM office. While the other journalists concern themselves with taxation and business rates, I am writing about theatre and restaurants. City AM’s tagline is ‘business with personality,’ and, humblebrag alert, I suppose I’m the personality. By and large, politics and business is left off our pages – we like to take the reader away from their desks to somewhere more fabulous. And while important conversations take place over dinner, we’re concerned with telling you what to eat, where to go, and, crucially, who to put on the invite list. And so it was new for me this year to sit through the entirety of the Budget – not just have it on in the background, but properly take it in. Here’s this lifestyle writer’s takeaways from the Autumn Budget 2026. Call me a fish out of