Yesterday’s #Budget2021 does little to help hard pressed communities in Newport West. This is not a budget for working people, it’s a budget for the banks and the bankers.
Whilst thousands of working people in Newport West will be forced to fork out for the extra 1.25% National Insurance tax hike next year, the banks, thanks to Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak, are getting a £4 billion tax cut.
People here in Newport West are facing a cost-of-living crisis – now, but there was nothing to address this crisis. There was nothing to help people with heating their homes, filling their cars with petrol or feeding their families. That is why Labour in Government would cut VAT on energy bills for at least 6 months.
It’s a disgrace that online giants such as Amazon will be getting a £12 billion tax cut when some of the poorest in our community are forced to pay more. People with the broadest shoulders should be paying their fair share of tax, not hard-working, self-employed people who will end up paying an extra £1.715 billion over the next 5 years.
Like many local people, I am desperately concerned that there was no real attempt to address the impact of the recent Tory cuts to Universal Credit, which were the biggest overnight cut to welfare since World War II. Millions of people, including 9000 households in Newport West have had their Universal Credit cut, having a devastating impact on families here and across Wales. Rest assured, I will keep fighting for all of you.
Whilst I welcome the decision to cut the Universal Credit taper rate from 63p to 55p, it still means a single parent claiming Universal Credit on minimum wage will lose an estimated £361 next year. That is unacceptable.
I am proud that Labour would take a fairer and wiser approach to our public finances – not wasting billions of tax-payers’ money by handing out dodgy PPE contracts to mates – and after a decade of faltering growth, Labour would get the economy firing on all cylinders.
If you are a resident in Newport West and have been affected by the cuts to Universal Credit, my office is here to support you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.
ruth.jones.mp@parliament.uk