Festive decorations may be up, but things are far from winding down in Westminster. The Budget, delivered on November 26, has set the stage for a busy advent period as MPs like me will be spending December unpacking its contents.
There is much to welcome in this budget. It is one which prioritises public services (particularly our NHS), investment in infrastructure and, most importantly, lifting families out of poverty – and it did so in the face of tough economic conditions.
When the OBR published their review of the supply side of our economy, they were clear that this was not about the last 14 months, but the previous 14 years.
Budget after budget, Tory governments ushered in austerity measures, before finally crashing the economy with Liz Truss‘ infamous mini-budget.
Up against this inheritance, our Chancellor delivered a budget that maintains investment in capital and public services, and one which does so in the spirit of Labour values.
It was clear this would be a traditional Labour budget when we heard that the investment reserve of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme would be transferred back to its members.
This follows a long-fought campaign for justice by BCSSS members, including those in my constituency. In September, I organised a meeting between local members and BCSSS trustees, to inform the case that fellow Labour MPs and I were continuing to make to the Government. It was therefore fantastic to see the Chancellor deliver for our coalfield communities, who are so important to our region’s history.
This budget also saw £1.7bn granted to our North East Mayoral Combined Authority to invest in skills, employment, infrastructure and improved transport. Bus services matter immensely to my constituents, and I am delighted that the Government has frozen bus fares, enabling our mayor, Kim McGuinness, to keep fares even lower in our region. Of course, wider work to improve these services continues.
These policies will be hugely beneficial to people in our communities. But there was another change that I was particularly pleased to see.
I became an MP in 2017 – the same year the two-child benefit cap came into effect. Few policies have had such a defining impact during my time in parliament.
Every day that it has remained in place, it has pushed more children into poverty. I have seen the consequences of this in our local schools, foodbanks, and in the cases that come through my office.
I know there are many families struggling to make ends meet, including those not affected by this cap. It is vital that we support these families, including by delivering on our commitments to introduce universal free breakfast clubs, expanded childcare provision, and the Warm Homes Plan.
But there is a clear consensus that removing the cap is the single most effective step a Government can take to lift nearly half a million children out of poverty. The Tories could have taken this step, but they chose not to do so.
The truth is that most of the opposition to scrapping the cap is based on a false assumption – that parents make a financial choice when a child is born, and that nothing changes for the next 18 years. But life is not like that. Relationships end, jobs are lost, and people become ill. Families can struggle to support children they could previously afford.
The majority of families affected by the cap are already working, many of them in low-paid jobs. The Child Poverty Action Group has found that a single parent with three children working full-time on the minimum wage can cover only half of basic family costs.
Through scrapping the cap and raising the minimum wage, I know we can change that figure.
Today, one in four children in my constituency are growing up in poverty, and 1,750 children are affected by the two-child benefit cap. This change will mean that in years to come, these children can grow up in dignity, with the opportunities they deserve.