Havering Labour Councillors hit out ‘pathetic’ Tory Budget.

Havering’s Labour Councillors have hit out at the ‘pathetic’ nature of the budget set out by Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Speaking on behalf of the Labour Group, Heaton Ward Councillor Frankie Walker commented that the last 14 years of Conservative Government have seen successive tax rises. “The Tories give with one hand and take away with the other. Cutting National Insurance does nothing for our pensioners, but freezing tax thresholds hurts everyone on lower incomes.”

Councillor Walker went on to criticise the Chancellor’s comments around productivity, after he asserted that public sector workers were not doing enough. She added: “People want public services that are properly funded, that offer employment to local people, a decent education and healthcare, clean streets and a thriving public realm. NHS and local government workforce are overworked and underfunded – to stand up in Parliament and claim that people must work smarter and harder when you have cut their departments to the bone is immoral.”

The cross-party Local Government Association has voiced its disappointment at the continued overlooking of the needs of local government: “It is disappointing that the Government has not announced measures to adequately fund the local services people rely on every day. Councils continue to transform services but, given that core spending power in 2024/25 has been cut by 23.3 per cent in real terms compared to 2010/11, it is unsustainable to expect them to keep doing more for less in the face of unprecedented cost and demand pressures.”

The electioneering Hunt has pivoted from mocking Labour’s plans on non-dom tax status to backing them, just like the unelected Rishi Sunak did as Chancellor when he half-heartedly introduced a windfall tax on utility companies in 2022. Havering residents have been telling the Labour Party that they are not impressed by a government that outsources the funding of public services onto Council Tax payers and allows huge corporations to avoid tax that could be improving the lives of ordinary people.

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