Tax fairly, spend wisely, promote growth – don’t increase the burden on workers

The Spring Statement was a chance for Rishi Sunak to show that he understood just how hard the cost of living crisis is hitting people across the country. It was a chance for him to show that he was prepared to help families weather the storm.

Inflation and energy prices are both at historic highs because of the government’s failure to get a grip of the crisis. The Office for Budget Responsibility said yesterday what many people are already feeling: that living standards are falling at the fastest rate since records began.

They also said that Britain is facing the highest tax burden in 70 years. Despite the Chancellor’s fanfare, even if he does go ahead with his mooted income tax cut, he’s still taking £6 in tax for every £1 he’s giving back.

Ordinary families, disabled people and pensioners are facing impossible choices. Parents skipping meals so that their children don’t go hungry. Children pulling on over-sized hand me down school uniforms. Pensioners thinking twice before putting the heating on because they’re worried they can’t afford to be warm.

Incredibly, the Chancellor has failed to uprate social security payments and pensions to reflect the current cost of living, which means some of the least well-off in society will get poorer still. Martin Lewis predicts that ten million people could be pushed into fuel poverty, but even that isn’t enough to make the Chancellor pay attention.

To add insult to injury – as people continue to face rising taxes and soaring prices, waste and fraud at the hands of this Chancellor is still endemic. His decisions have resulted in mountains of unused personal protective equipment piled high and then set alight. He spent £3.5bn worth of taxpayers’ money on dodgy contracts. He wrote off £11.8bn of taxpayer cash to fraudsters and error.

Yesterday he announced that the work for a more secure economy “starts today”. Is he serious? The Conservatives have been in power for 12 years – not 12 hours. He has failed to get a grip of the cost-of-living crisis his party has created. The British people deserve so much better.

The Spring Statement was about choices. The Chancellor could have chosen to scrap the National Insurance rise, and he could have used a one-off windfall tax on the booming profits of oil and gas producer profits to cut household bills by up to £600.

Instead, he chose to increase the tax burden on working people whilst doing nothing to tax the wealthy who earn their income through property or stocks and shares. In the process, he’s allowing living standards to fall and our economy to become weaker.

Labour believes in taxing fairly, spending wisely and growing the economy. Those are the choices we would have made yesterday – and they are the choices we will continue to make.