Budget Resolutions
“What incentive is there for hard-working families and young entrepreneurs to remain in Britain after this Budget?” That is the question that a constituent put to me at a community meeting I held in Wixams in Mid Bedfordshire last week. Let me start with what I think is the main test that really matters for any Budget: will it make my constituents richer in five years’ time than they are today? Having listened to the Chancellor and the reaction over the weekend, I am afraid that the answer is no. There is simply no confidence whatsoever that this Budget will deliver growth in their postcodes, and it certainly does not give hope in their hearts. Given that the Prime Minister is extremely comfortable looking to the past, whether it is to the 1970s or 2016, but not to the future, I did a little reflecting myself over the weekend. It is fitting that we debate this Budget 40 years on from the big bang in 1986, when regulations that were strangling our economy were swept away, making London into the powerhouse of global finance that it remains today, opening the City of London to the world and delivering prosperity here at home. The courage of that decision in 1986 benefited every corner of Britain, delivering more jobs, investment and tax revenues that paid for schools, hospitals and public services.<span id="647" class="column-number" data-column-number="647"></span> During my 15 years in the City before coming to this place, I saw at first hand how EU regulations after the credit crunch steadily ratcheted up costs and de-risked our entire economy. The courage and ambition of 1986 have slowly given way to the caution and complexity of 2026. That is why my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition is right to say that Britain needs a new economic revolution even bigger than the big bang. Where are we today? The OBR says that the tax burden will reach a record 38.6% of GDP. The Budget raises tax on savings and rental income—again. It doubles the bank surcharge and leaves Labour’s damaging jobs tax untouched. After Labour’s first Budget, I told the House that it was “a job-cutting Budget”. Some 1.7 million people older than 16 are now unemployed—up by 276,000 under this Government—and vacancies are at their lowest level since 2014. Last year, about 136,000 more British nationals left the country than came home, with two thirds of them under the age of 35. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor may have changed, but this Budget makes it clear that Labour has not. It is still picking the pockets of working people to pay for welfare. That was plain to hear this weekend, as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury redefined working people to exclude employees. It may be a new team at the Dispatch Box, but their contempt for British business and British business owners in this Budget is as strong as ever.