John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the Budget, said:
“This is a
‘nothing has changed’ Budget from an out-of-touch Government with no idea of
the reality of people’s lives and no plan to improve them.
“Philip Hammond has
completely failed to recognise the scale of the emergency in our
public services.
“Today’s Budget has
found no meaningful funding for our schools still facing their first real terms
funding cuts since the mid-90s and nothing even approaching the scale needed to
address the crisis in our NHS or local government.
“For all the
fanfare on housing, today saw more tinkering in place of decisive action, with
only one third of funding announced today genuinely new. The Chancellor announced
no measures to directly increase house-building and, without that, lifting
stamp duty for some will only drive up prices and benefit sellers, as the OBR
have acknowledged.
“The Government’s
rollout of Universal Credit is causing real suffering in our communities. Today
rather than the halt the botched rollout and fix the failing system, the
Chancellor has put back £1 for every £10 cut from the system. Today all the
Chancellor could offer those struggling with debt and rent arrears is further
debt.
“Economic growth is
the lowest it has been since the Tories came into office and today’s Budget
confirms that failure, with growth and wage forecasts revised down in every
year of the forecast. If the Government cannot address the scale of the
challenges facing our economy they should stand aside for a Labour government
that will.”
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