The Budget: Is That It?
Budgets are supposed to set a clear direction for the country. They should confront major challenges, seize opportunities, and provide confidence for households and businesses alike. Instead, contrary to the hope and vibes of a new Prime Minister, new Cabinet, and promise of change, this Budget felt underpowered, lacking ambition and unable to address many of the issues facing working people across the country.
The most worrying aspect is that, despite the fanfare, independent analysis suggests that living standards are set to stagnate under this Government. During the decade between 2010 and 2020, household incomes rose significantly. Yet forecasts now indicate that income growth over the current decade will be dramatically lower. At a time when families are already struggling with higher costs, that should concern every Member of Parliament.
The reality is that Britain needs growth. Growth creates jobs, raises wages, and generates the revenue needed to fund public services, yet unfortunately, this Budget offered little evidence that the Government understands how to deliver it.
One of the most striking omissions was the lack of support for young people. Across the country, around one million young people are NEETS (not in education, employment or training) and the Conservatives have announced we would focus on helping young people into work, and rewarding enterprise by slashing the Government’s increase to National Insurance contributions. The Chancellor could have acted to ease the burden of student debt by reducing loan interest rates, or taken meaningful steps to address the housing and energy pressures faced by younger generations. Instead, many young people will continue to face rising rents and high borrowing costs, whilst decisions affecting landlords will lead to higher rents.
Another area forgotten was funding for smoking cessation services, something I, as Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Smoking, care passionately about. This attracted no headlines, but it is an issue with enormous consequences. Smoking remains one of the greatest preventable causes of ill health in Britain and millions of smokers want to quit, yet support services continue to face pressure and reductions in funding. Both my parents died from smoking-related diseases. The personal and economic consequences are significant: lost productivity, NHS burdens, and smoking-related incidents cost the economy billions each year. I have long championed a smokefree Britain, but if the Government is serious about improving public health and reducing pressure on the NHS, investing in smoking cessation programmes should be an obvious priority. Yet this Budget barely acknowledged the issue.
Tackling homelessness is another passion of mine, having authored both the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, yet here there were some welcome announcements. Doubling the funding to help rough sleepers secure accommodation deserves support this Christmas, so that nobody should have to sleep on our streets.
However, I am concerned that the Government's ambitions appear increasingly diluted. Previous promises by the new Prime Minister were to ‘end’ rough sleeping before Christmas, but have now been replaced by commitments merely to ‘offer’ accommodation. That is a very different objective.
Likewise I continue to urge the Government to implement the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, legislation that would provide greater protection for vulnerable residents and help prevent exploitation in parts of the supported housing sector.
Finally, local government is an area where the Budget falls short. Councils across the country face enormous pressures, particularly in relation to adult social care, children's services, and temporary accommodation. Whilst the Government has pointed to its council tax rebate as evidence that it is helping households, a one-off £100 does nothing when the average council tax in England bill rose by £111 alone this year! So what about next May?
While a multi-year funding settlement provides greater certainty than annual allocations, alone it certainty is not enough if the underlying funding remains insufficient. Many councils face the difficult prospect of increasing council tax while simultaneously reducing services.
Perhaps most disappointing is the sense that many of these problems could have been addressed, but instead, we received a Budget that tinkers around the edges while avoiding fundamental challenges.
Britain's economy has enormous strengths with our world-leading industries, talented entrepreneurs and hardworking communities, yet we have a Government promising everything and delivering little.
This Budget does not meet expectations. Rather than providing solutions, it represents a series of missed opportunities and Britain deserves better. That’s why the Conservatives will continue to make the case to get Britain working again for everyone, not just the few.
Bob Blackman MP is a British Conservative politician who has represented Harrow East in Parliament since 2010. Born Robert John Blackman on 26 April 1956, he first entered elected office as a Member of the London Assembly for Brent and Harrow, serving from 2004 to 2008 before moving to Westminster. Throughout his parliamentary career, Blackman has played significant roles in backbench politics, serving as Joint Executive Secretary of the 1922 Committee from 2012 to 2024.
