Budget Resolutions

Paulette Hamilton Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

I welcome last week’s Budget, which finally, after 14 years of Tory neglect, puts the people of Birmingham Erdington first.

On our NHS, I was delighted to hear that the Chancellor announced further efforts to shorten NHS waiting lists, including an upgrade to Stockland Green primary care centre in Birmingham Erdington. Bringing care back into the community was always a priority for me when I worked in the NHS, and I am thrilled to see a Labour Government finally deliver it.

In addition, more than 6,000 children in Birmingham Erdington will now receive access to the crucial funds they need to thrive through the lifting of the two-child benefit cap. Growing up in poverty seriously harms a child’s life chances. They are less likely to work as an adult and earn around 25% less by the age of 30 than their peers, making us all poorer in the long run. Wages have risen more in the first year of this Government than in the first decade under the Conservatives, whose austerity measures put so many into the poverty trap. When coupled with freezing train fares and prescription charges, this will lower living costs and make everyday life better for so many.

Another consistent area of concern for my constituents is energy bills. Taking levies off energy bills will save families £150 on average next year, and that figure rises to £300 for many of the most vulnerable households. This is exactly the kind of direct action that people have been crying out for. This Labour Government’s mission is to renew our economy and our communities; I am pleased to see that promise being kept, and will continue holding the Government to account and fighting for a better future for everyone in Erdington, Kingstanding, Castle Vale and south Oscott. I support this Budget wholeheartedly.