Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has responded to a Labour Budget which has seen growth forecasts slashed, raised inflation predictions, and promised £26 billion of tax rises.
Caroline drew particular attention to the promises that Rachel Reeves appears to have broken, highlighting the Chancellor’s previous statements that she would not be "coming back with more borrowing or more taxes", that last year’s Budget “wiped the slate clean”, that she would not raise taxes on working people, and that extending the income tax thresholds would “hurt working people”.
Today’s Budget saw 43 tax rises worth £26 billion, the biggest of which was a further freeze to tax bands until 2028.
Caroline also highlighted Labour’s mishandling of the economy since the last Election. Unemployment has risen from 4.2% to 5% under Labour, with 150,000 jobs lost across the country in that time, whilst in Gosport youth unemployment has risen 31%.
Reacting to the Budget, Caroline said:
“This chaotic Budget was characterised by leaks, briefings, and u-turns, and it didn’t get any better once we saw the detail.
“I want this country to be the best it possibly can, but I can’t believe anyone who wants the best for our country, wants this. Labour inherited the fastest growing economy in the G7, crippled businesses with tax rises, told us they wouldn’t come back for more, and then today u-turned again on their promises.
“It isn’t just the income tax thresholds that will hit people in Gosport, Lee on the Solent, Stubbington, and Hill Head. Additional labour costs to business will put extra pressure on the jobs market, where unemployment is already running at 5%, having hit an all-time low just a couple of years ago. And the smorgasbord of little tax rises, from EV mileage charges, to alcohol duty and milkshake tax and fuel duty freezes that only last 5 months, will all add to the sense that Labour isn’t making life any easier.
“No wonder the think tank most sympathetic to the Labour Party has said that the Budget was “bad news for households… with real disposable incomes rising by a paltry 0.5 a year over the Parliament.””
ENDS
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You can read the OBR’s assessment of the Budget at obr.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlooks.
