Budget Resolutions

Anna Firth Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anna Firth (Southend West) (Con)]

I welcome this Budget. It continues the Prime Minister and the Chancellor’s clear plan to get the economy back on track, following the twin global shocks of the pandemic and Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine—[Interruption.] Opposition Members do not like to hear it. They can chunter from a sedentary position, but those are facts. Through targeted tax cuts, both for businesses and individuals, this Budget will put more money back into the pockets of hard-working families and people in Southend and Leigh-on-Sea, and set our country back on course for growth.

We should remember two facts about this Conservative Government’s record. We have created the right economic environment to create 800 jobs every day of this Government, and in the last two years, when people have been suffering because of the cost of living crisis, the Government have given on average £3,400 in help. This Government create jobs but do not forget people when they need help.

I will use my time to talk about the things that benefit Southend. Southend is a city of entrepreneurs, successful large and small businesses, Borough Plating and KeyMed, unique and interesting shops, fabulous seafront hostelries, Adventure Island and 1,000 years of the fishing industry. I am proud to stand up for those businesses in this place. All of them will benefit, to a lesser or greater extent, from this Budget.

I am delighted that the Chancellor listened to me and other colleagues regarding the need to reform the VAT threshold to make life easier for small businesses, which are the engine of our local economy in Southend West. The reform will take thousands of businesses across the region out of paying VAT, making it easier for Southend’s 9,000 SMEs to grow, creating more jobs and, ultimately, more income for the Exchequer and better public services.

Similarly, I welcome the news we are freezing alcohol duty, benefiting 7,000 pubs, restaurants, clubs and venues across the east of England. Taken with our action at the autumn statement to extend the 75% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure until 2025, as well as freezing the small business multiplier, this is another welcome win for our tourism and hospitality sector in Southend and Leigh-on-Sea. Thanks to this Budget, brilliant pubs, such as the Legra Tap and Kitchen, owned by the fabulous Leigh-on-Sea Brewery, the Blue Boar, the Mayflower, the Bellhouse and the Saxon King, to name but a few, will all benefit.

The vast majority of residents in Southend and Leigh-on-Sea work hard. They work full time, and they own their own houses. They deserve to keep as much of their own money as possible—a fundamental Conservative principle. I welcome the fact that in this Budget the Government are again cutting national insurance for 27 million working people. Combined with the cuts made in the last autumn statement, the average working person in Southend West and Leigh earning £36,500 a year will keep an additional £960 next year. A hard-working family in Southend, with two earners on the average income, will be £1,920 better off next year because of this Budget. One of our brilliant senior nurses at Southend Hospital will be better off by £1,202; one of our brilliant teachers in one of Southend’s fantastic schools will be better off by £1,270; and one of our brilliant police officers on an average wage will be better off by £1,270, on top of the brilliant work they do cutting crime across our city.

I also welcome the announcement that the Chancellor is once again continuing the freeze on fuel duty and maintaining the 5p reduction introduced last year. Some 80% of Southend households have at least one car and 40% of my constituents drive to work. Members on the Government Benches help our hard-working motorists and white van men, in stark contrast with the Labour Mayor of London, who fleeces motorists whenever he can.

The family is the cornerstone of our society. The Conservative party will always support hard-working families, for whom child benefit is often a lifeline. I am delighted that almost half a million families will benefit from the changes to the high-income child benefit charge, with 170,000 families no longer paying it at all. From April, the high-income child benefit charge threshold will be raised to £60,000, with the top of the taper at which it is withdrawn rising to £80,000. That means that half a million families, including thousands of hard-working families across Southend West, will save an average of £1,300 a year.

We are also the party that respects our elderly and our senior citizens. When my children were young and I took them to music lessons, we were told to always tell them three positive things before telling them anything negative. I have said three positive things but, while I am pleased we protected the triple lock, the freezing of income tax threshold means many pensioners are now paying increased tax. I ask the Chancellor to look again at that issue and to ensure that at the next fiscal event our pensioners do not miss out on further tax cuts.