‘Government has missed chance to take control of our finances’

MP Stephanie Peacock on the controversial ‘mini budget’ announcement...

PEOPLE across the country and here in Barnsley are incredibly worried about the cost of living.

The government presented a fiscal statement which was supposed to deal with this, but failed to do so.

This was an opportunity for the government to take hold of the country’s finances, to provide real help to people across the UK, and to help businesses cope with rising energy bills and falling footfall.

The government failed to take this opportunity. Instead, they chose to make a misguided return to outdated and ineffective trickle-down economics.

Rather than providing working people with support they need and deserve, the Chancellor chose to give the wealthiest one percent a tax cut.

They chose to increase bankers’ bonuses, whilst nurses are forced to use foodbanks.

And still no mention of a windfall tax on the excess profits oil and gas companies make, whilst everyone else struggles to heat their homes and keep the lights on…

These choices confirmed what we already knew: the Tories are on the side of the bankers and the energy giants, not the working people.

This is also the highest level of borrowing we have seen since 1972, piling on £50bn to national debt every year. With inflation rates already high, this is not good news for our economy.

We have already seen the pound slump in the immediate aftermath of this reckless budget, causing yet more worry to people concerned about paying their bills this winter.

The Bank of England have introduced unprecedented measures to intervene on the economic threat the UK is facing, yet the government still refuses to backtrack on their mini-budget.

It’s not just individuals concerned about fiscal instability.

Businesses are still crying out for clarity from the government, with some suggesting that the piecemeal measures, largely benefitting large corporations only, are simply too little too late.

Government dither and delay has unnecessarily put pressure on businesses for far too long – the damage is done.

As we hear reports that people are skipping meals to be able to keep their lights on and feed their children, we need real action, not gestures that do nothing except allow the rich to become richer whilst working families across the UK struggle.

The Prime Minister declares that she is ‘prepared to be unpopular’ over her fiscal policies. But this is not just being unpopular; this is the difference between families being able to heat their homes, feed their children and pay their bills.

This is real and this is devastating to people across the country.

Unfortunately, but not unsurprisingly, we’re not going to get real action from the Tories.

Labour has a plan. I was pleased to see my colleague, the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, speak at Labour’s annual conference. She expertly highlighted where the Tories continue to go wrong, and what Labour would do to restore the UK’s broken economy.

Labour know that trickle-down economics doesn’t work. We know that the economy is built from the bottom up and from the middle out.

The next Labour government would bring back the higher level of tax to the wealthiest in the UK, using this money to bolster our public services, doubling the number of district nurses qualifying every year, training more than 5,000 new health visitors, and creating an additional 10,000 nursing and midwife placements every year.

We would create a National Wealth Fund, investing in new industries, giving a share of this investment back to the public and growing wealth across the country – not just in the south. We believe in buying, making and selling more in Britain.

This starts with stable, trustworthy employment across a variety of sectors. Growth and investment that will be returned right back to the British people.

Only a Labour government will provide the fresh start our economy, and our country, needs.