Britons in Birmingham have hit out at the Chancellor of the Exchequer after she delivered the Autumn Budget today, with one person admitting he “won’t vote Labour again”.
Rachel Reeves unveiled Labour’s first budget in 14 years, announcing a substantial £40 billion tax increase.
She revealed that there will be an increase in National Insurance tax for employers as well as capital gains tax, a VAT on private school fees and a freeze on fuel duty.
The Autumn Statement also revealed that the minimum wage will increase.
Britons have hit out at the budget
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Hitting back at the rise, one Birmingham resident said: “Inflation will be sky high again next year. It’s giving with one hand and taking away with the other, isn’t it?
“You give people pay rises, then inflation will go up you see. We can’t trust a Labour government again. I’m never voting Labour again.”
Another person took a counter view, saying of the minimum wage rise: “It is a good thing for those that need it and are at that level.
“I think it is one of the things. There’s been a huge wage disparity anyway over the last few years, people at the bottom on that minimum wage need all the help they can get to try and cover the bills with the cost of living going up as well.”
Another Briton concurred, telling GB News: “I do think it’s quite good that they’re putting the national minimum wage up, as Labour should do is the working man’s party.
“But then they’re giving with one hand and taking away with another, because they’re going to be taxing the companies.”
One person said that “Labour are just as bad as the Tories”
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He added: “I think Labour and just as bad as the Tories because none of this was in their manifesto.”
Another Briton was furious at those receiving minimum wage, saying the decision to increase it “gives people a chance in life, but whatever you give them, it will never be enough. There’s always want more money.”
The measures are part of Labour’s strategy to address what Reeves called a “black hole in our public finances” inherited from the previous Conservative government.
She argued that any responsible Chancellor would have to take action given the current fiscal reality.
Some people were very pleased with the national wage increase
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“Together, the black hole in our public finances this year, which recurs every year, the compensation payments which they did not fund, and their failure to assess the scale of the challenges facing our public services means this budget raises taxes by £40bn,” Reeves stated.
The Chancellor highlighted a decade of low economic growth and deteriorating living standards.
She described the previous parliament as “the worst parliament for living standards in modern history”, emphasising the urgent need for fiscal reform.
