By Cllr Pauline Jorgensen
Recent years have not been easy.
As a country, we have faced covid, war in Ukraine and the Middle East.
These challenges, which few could have predicted, have made life tough for people across Wokingham Borough. They have contributed to globally high inflation, and we have seen the cost of energy and food go up.
However, since 2010 the UK economy has been growing faster than Germany, France, Japan and Italy and the International Monetary Fund forecasts that the UK will continue to grow faster between 2024 -28.
Inflation has fallen from 11.1% 4% wages are rising, and mortgage rates are starting to come down.
Four million more people are in employment since 2010, when the Conservatives came to office.
Last month, I took chancellor Jeremy Hunt to visit businesses in Woodley Precinct.
He met local people, business owners and retail staff. This was a great opportunity for the Chancellor to hear directly about the challenges they have faced and what they feel is important for their success.
The Chancellor is particularly committed to supporting small businesses, and I am pleased that the Government has raised the VAT threshold for small businesses from £85,000 to £90,00. This builds on help for small businesses in last year’s Autumn Statement.
The Budget this week demonstrates that Conservatives in Government understand the pressure on many households. It cuts taxes for people in work, helps people get where they need to be by cutting fuel duty, and supports families with children by making the child benefit system fairer.
But it also supports some of the most vulnerable in our society by extending funding for the Household Support Fund, which has helped Wokingham Borough residents struggling with the cost of living. The Government is continuing to provide targeted support for the most vulnerable as inflation continues to fall. To help households with the cost of essentials such as food and utilities, the Government is providing an additional £500 million to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England from April to September 2024.
The Budget is cutting taxes with National Insurance contributions being cut by an average of £900 this year, rewarding hard work. It also increases the threshold and halves the rate at which Child Benefit is withdrawn, benefitting some parents by an average of £1,260, helping young families.
Tax cuts to NICs at the Autumn Statement and in this Budget combined with cuts to the High Income Child Benefit Charge mean a couple with two school aged children, both working full time one on £60,000 and one earning the average salary (£35,400) will be better off by £4,600.
Conservatives believe in choice, and that you are best place to make decisions in your life.
So, while Liberal Democrats in Wokingham Borough want to reduce car journeys and have punished drivers by doubling car parking charges, supported by Labour councillors, it is Conservatives in Government who have frozen fuel duty and maintained the five pence cut, saving you money when you fill up your car.
Nationally, this represents a tax cut for drivers this year of around £3.1 billion, saving the average car driver around £50 this year.
Labour have made a series of pledges with a £6.5 billion hole in them.
If Labour were to win the next election and continue the Government’s Budget proposals, the only way they could fill this gap would be to raise taxes or increase borrowing.
Either would make people and the nation’s finances worse off. The Conservative Government, on the other hand, is implementing a fully costed plan that supports growth and backs families.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives and ward member for Hillside
