With the UK entering a technical recession last month, there has been a lot of focus in recent months on the state of the economy. Over the last four years there has been a string of unforeseen challenges that we have faced as a country yet thanks to shrewd fiscal policy and restraint there is a lot to be optimistic about.
It is through the sensible decisions of the last 18 months that inflation has halved, wages have risen, and debt has fallen. We now have an economy that is outperforming our European neighbours and it has given us room to implement tax cuts. At the beginning of March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the last budget of this parliament.
The most notable measure announced in the Budget was a reduction in the amount paid in National Insurance Contributions. From April, my constituents will see the savings in their pay packets. 27 million working people will save up to £900 a year when combined with cuts made in the Autumn Statement. This is welcome news and there are also provisions to cut taxes for two million self-employed people who will save around £650 a year when compared to this time last year.
This is only one of the measures that the Chancellor announced that will benefit my constituents in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner. The average car driver will save £50 this year as the 5p cut and freeze to fuel duty is maintained until March 2025, while pubs, breweries and distilleries will benefit from a further freeze to alcohol duty until February. The freeze on fuel duty is especially welcome for my constituents who rely on their vehicles for work, travel and accessing public services and have been impacted by the Mayor’s decision to expand ULEZ last year.
This is just part of the wider good news regarding the economy. Remarkably, an average of 800 jobs have been created for every single day that the Conservatives have been in office since 2010, additionally, the youth unemployment rate has halved since David Cameron entered Downing Street, and where foreign investment is supporting the creation of jobs and investment in productivity, which gives us cause to be optimistic that this is genuinely a Budget for a better future.
Away from Westminster, residents may know that I am running the London marathon again this year. This year, I am honoured to be raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society. The money raised will allow the Alzheimer's Society to continue to fund more research that has the potential to produce positive results, giving hope to residents and their loved ones who have been affected by this heart-breaking disease.
First published: My Local News, April 2024
