Income Tax (Charge)

Jen Craft Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

This Budget will make a real difference to the lives of my constituents. It is designed to fix the foundations of our economy, to turn the page on the failed policies of the previous Government, and to deliver the change that people across the country and in my constituency voted for.

As hon. Members on both sides of the House have made clear, we have all seen, experienced and heard about the decline of the last 14 years. The economic failures of the previous Government left our constituents worse off than they were in 2010. Every day, families in Thurrock tell me about the challenges they face. Public service performance is at a historic low, and behind every statistic is the real-world experience of one of my constituents, whether it is the tragic loss of life while waiting to see a doctor following heart surgery, the learning-disabled man I met who had resorted to pulling out his own teeth because he could not see an NHS dentist, or the parents desperate to receive a diagnosis for their child’s special educational needs so that they can start receiving the support they need.

Nowhere are the Conservatives’ austerity and broken promises more obvious than in our NHS. My constituents face some of the most acute GP shortages in the country, with each of our local surgeries caring for an average of nearly 3,500 patients. People continue to struggle with NHS dentistry, with only 31% of adults in Thurrock having seen an NHS dentist in the last two years. Nearly a third of patients at the local trust have waited more than six weeks for a diagnostic test. I welcome the commitment to provide an extra £22.6 billion of funding for day-to-day spending for the health service, to cut waiting times and deliver 40,000 extra appointments every week. The commitment to more capital funding cannot come soon enough. I look forward to working with Ministers to ensure that benefits are felt in Thurrock, particularly in areas such as Tilbury, where health inequalities are felt more keenly.

On a personal note, I welcome the commitment in the Budget to deliver for unpaid carers. From my own experience as an unpaid carer, I know that the increase in the amount that carers can earn without losing their carer’s allowance, as well as the commitment to review the current cliff edge of carer’s allowance, will be welcomed by those who do the vital work of caring for their loved ones.

For so many people, this Budget will tackle the challenges our country faces. Our party founded the national health service and brought it back from the brink after years of Tory neglect. On the campaign trail, I told my constituents that we did it before and we will do it again. This Budget delivers on that promise, and I am proud to support it.