JAMES DALY: Budget part of plan to deliver for everyone in our country

I particularly welcomed the two per cent cut in National Insurance, which, combined with the two per cent announced in Autumn, reduces NI by a third - from 12 per cent to eight per cent.

This country has faced enormous fiscal challenges resulting from the pandemic and the inflationary impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But we have turned the corner, and this Conservative government will, quite rightly, do everything possible to reduce taxation on hardworking people throughout the country.

There’s always more to do, and I hope, as the economy sees a return to growth, as confirmed this week, we must examine other opportunities to reduce the tax burden, including a review of current income tax thresholds.

However, I'm concerned by narratives, like the Institute for Fiscal Studies', that frame the budget in terms of winners and losers. The IFS states that pensioners are the big losers.

I am proud to be a member of a government that has continued to ensure that pensioners pay no National Insurance at all.

Bury North MP James Daly (Image: James Daly)

The pension "triple lock" introduced in 2011, has seen the cost of the state pension grow by an estimated £78bn, the same as the UK’s entire corporation tax revenue in 2022/23. Across this Parliament alone, the state pension has risen by 31 per cent.

In April, the state pension will again increase by 8.5 per cent, more than double the current inflation rate, representing a £900 boost for pensioners. This level of spending to support retired people has only happened because of a Conservative government, and I am proud of that.

I was pleased to see a further £6bn of funding in the NHS and £3.4bn for NHS digitalisation, which will hopefully lead to a further 200,000 operations per year. But all this has to be paid for, and we must have a strong economy to fund the public services we all desire.

The Budget showed the benefits of sticking to a plan, which has seen inflation fall from 11.1 per cent to four per cent, wages begin to rise, and mortgage rates start to come down.

In both the Autumn Statement and the budget, we’ve seen measures to support businesses in growing our economy, such as full expensing, which is worth more than £50bn over the next five years and is the biggest business tax cut in modern British history. Further important reforms addressed low public sector productivity and got people back into work.

This was not a budget about winners or losers. We are all in this together, young, old, whatever your background - this was a budget as part of a long-term plan to deliver for everyone in our country.

The Conservative Party has created 800 jobs per day during its 14 years in power, a record to be proud of.