Budget Statement

Lord Tunnicliffe Excerpts

Friday 12th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, this has been an interesting and wide-ranging discussion. I welcome and congratulate those who have made their maiden speeches today.

In recent days, much has been made of this Chancellor’s supposed departure from the Osborne economics of the early 2010s. We have seen the former Chancellor criticise the planned increase in corporation tax, while others have rightly observed that the freezing of personal tax allowances will reverse the recent trend of taking low earners out of income tax altogether.

However, when we look at this Budget in the round, it is striking just how similar it is to the austerity Budgets of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition Government. This is backed up by the IFS, which, as others have noted, believes that the Chancellor’s spending plans are likely to be undeliverable, at least not without inflicting considerable pain on individuals, families and public services.

We recognise the difficult economic situation the country faces because of Covid-19. After all, the Government’s mismanagement of the pandemic saw the UK experience the worst downturn of any major economy. Rather than use this Budget to plot a route to strong, sustainable growth, the Government have instead chosen to implement cuts and continue perpetuating the myth that the country’s finances operate in the same way as those of the average household.

Although some lessons appear to have been learned in relation to the phasing out of coronavirus support, Mr Sunak has pushed through a council tax hike and confirmed a cliff-edge withdrawal of the universal credit uplift. These decisions will leave many struggling at a time when we should be lifting people up, not forcing them back to the insecurity of the past. In the words of the Resolution Foundation, our upcoming economic recovery

“will not feel like a recovery for millions of households.”

As is often said, politics is about choice. Sadly, while the Government can find cash for Downing Street makeovers and lucrative contracts for firms run by Conservative donors, we are told that the country cannot afford to uphold its moral duty to our hero nurses in the NHS or those in desperate need in places such as Yemen.

The Budget largely skipped consideration of several of the key issues facing our country: strengthening our economic foundations; protecting family finances; and fixing the social care crisis. Let us not forget that, when he stood on the doorstep of No. 10, the Prime Minister told us that he had a plan for social care. Where is it?

This is not a levelling-up Budget. It is an austerity Budget that will damage our economy and our society.