Today’s Budget statement hides the Tories’ plans for deeper and more painful cuts if David Cameron is allowed back into Downing Street, Emma has said.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne today made his annual Budget statement in Parliament. But the Chancellor’s claim that things were looking up for Britain was undermined by the detail, where it was confirmed that the Tories will impose even deeper cuts if David Cameron is allowed back into Downing Street.
The Chancellor also claimed that households were better off than they were five years ago, but in fact the average household is £1,600 worse off.
Speaking after the Budget speech, Emma said:
“This budget was a smoke and mirrors act from the Chancellor. He wants people to believe good times are just around the corner, but when you look at the detail of the Tories’ plans you see even deeper austerity and more pain for the lowest paid.
“The Chancellor said that people are better off than they were five years ago, but people in Shields will be wondering what planet he is on. The fact is that the average family is £1,600 worse off than they were in 2010, and by fiddling the figures the Chancellor makes himself look even more out of touch.
“The fact is that people on low incomes aren’t a priority for the Tories, whereas building a recovery for everyone is at the centre of Labour’s plan. We are determined to make work pay, with a higher minimum wage and an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts. We have a plan to end rip-off rents and energy bills. And we will bring down the deficit fairly, by making the rich pay a bigger share and by ending the Tories’ cynical policy of demanding the biggest cuts from the most disadvantaged councils. That is how Labour will make sure the recovery works for the many, not the few.”
Emma also explained that the Chancellor’s claims that the Government would build a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ were empty promises.
The Chancellor announced new powers over business rates for Manchester, but he did not announce a single concrete measure for the North East, and even his business rates proposal falls well short of Labour’s own promise to give power over business rates to every council in the country.
Emma said:
“The Chancellor also promised a new focus on the North, but this Budget falls painfully short. His so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ seems to stop at Manchester, and his business rates announcement is just a half-hearted version of Labour’s own plans to give control over business rates to every council in the country. It seems that when it comes to supporting the North, this Government is all talk.”