I listened extremely carefully to the Chancellor's Budget Statement today.
Shockingly, Labour have broken their promises and chosen to raise taxes on working people. In fact, these tax rises are the biggest in my lifetime.
Increasing the national insurance contributions paid by employers means a higher tax on jobs and, inevitably, lower wages and fewer employment opportunities.
Rather than encouraging entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and employ more people, the Government are only making it more challenging for small businesses in Broxbourne.
I am also disappointed that the Government has chosen to go ahead with their damaging plans to add VAT on private school fees from January 2025. I have spoken in Parliament about the risks this poses, not just to families in Broxbourne who send children to private school, but to the pupils of Haileybury Turnford state school. I will continue my campaign to protect the incredibly beneficial partnerships between private and state schools.
On funding for Special Educational Needs provision, while a 6% uplift is desperately needed, in Hertfordshire we need a more fundamental reform of the funding system to ensure the resources provided to local authorities actually match demand.
However, I welcome that the Chancellor has listened to a campaign, backed my myself and over 70 colleagues, to retain the freeze in fuel duty. This is the right decision to protect hard-working people.
