Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has responded to the Spring Budget.
In a statement, Andrew Gwynne said:
“Jeremy Hunt closed his budget speech with the words “the plan is working!”
“If the plan is working, I hate to think what things would be like if it wasn’t.
“The Tories have been in power for 13 years, and what have local people got to show for it? Low wages, higher taxes and public services broken beyond recognition. All this, and the Chancellor has the cheek to tell us that everything is going just fine.
“This was a budget with no real ambition of long-term vision. The measures announced won’t even come close to addressing the serious challenges that Britain faces.
“Instead, the Chancellor announced changes to pension pots for the very wealthiest. It’s maddening that during a cost-of-living crisis – the only tax cut in this budget went to the extremely well-off.
“This felt like a budget in a parallel universe. There was nothing for the NHS, despite 7 million people currently on waiting lists to receive care. There was nothing on housing. Nothing on tackling crime.
“Childcare investment was welcome, but again, without a proper long-term plan on how parents will access these free hours, parents’ risk being let down yet again by this Conservative Government.
“This budget exposed the sad truth; this is a Government that has run out of road and out of ideas.
“Labour has a vision. We would spread power, wealth, and opportunity across the country. We’d rebuild our public services, create high-quality green jobs, tackle our housing crisis and make our communities safer.
“The Tories have had their chance. They’ve blown it. It’s time for a fresh start.”