Families in Birmingham say they have been left behind by the Chancellor, according to a snap survey conducted by Shabana Mahmood MP, Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood.

Over 86 percent of respondents thought the Government is handling the economy badly, with the same amount of respondents rejecting its £1000 cut to Universal Credit.

Commenting on the Budget, a number of constituents were concerned about the cost of living and affording the planned tax hikes, adding “the Tories have thought only about themselves and their friends.”

Others referenced abandoned pensioners following the scrapping of the triple lock, or the Government’s lack of a grip on the cladding and climate crises.

Sharing their concerns regarding the pay settlement for public sector workers, one constituent said:

“The fact that staff in education have worked throughout the pandemic to keep schooling as normal as possible for learners even at home – the clear lack of appreciation and acknowledgement has been really disheartening. Not knowing what future pay will look like has made me seriously consider whether teaching is a feasible career to be in, despite loving my workplace and my job.”

Sharing their concerns regarding the cut to the Universal credit uplift, one constituent explained:

“On Universal credit, the loss of the £20 has hurt us, we have decided that the heating will not be used this winter, it is too expensive as is the electricity now, food prices are going up as you know.”

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood said:

“As my constituents have rightly pointed out, this Budget does nothing for working people.

“The Government has no plan to tackle the cost of living crisis and instead they’ve handed tax cuts to big companies like Amazon, while putting taxes up on working families with a record increase in national insurance.

“Labour has a plan to ease the pressure on households and businesses right now. We’d abolish VAT on domestic energy bills for 6 months to help people get through the winter months, and we’d cut Business Rates next year.

“A Labour Government would tax fairly and spend wisely. In contrast to the Conservative Government we will create hundreds of thousands of secure jobs in low-carbon industries that tackle the challenge of climate change.”

ENDS