MP: 'Brace yourselves, the dreaded Autumn Budget approaches'

Fast forward 15 months, and he can’t rule it out. What’s changed? 

First, Labour has lost control of public spending. Inflation-busting union pay deals, (with strikes continuing regardless), a ballooning welfare bill, and billions squandered on the pointless GB Energy quango.  The result? Higher inflation and record borrowing — £99.8 billion borrowed in this financial year, £20 billion just in September. It’s the highest level since the midst of the Covid pandemic. 

Then, came the Chancellor’s tax hikes on business which led to the loss of 126,000 jobs. Unemployment has risen every month since Labour took office.  

This cocktail of debt, taxes, poor growth, and joblessness has created a black hole. Some put it as high as £50 billion — and now the country waits to see whether the Chancellor will jack up income tax or VAT to fill it.   

There’s no escaping the fact that the Chancellor will have to find the money somewhere, and it’s working people and businesses that will pay. Here in NW Hants, our extraordinary family businesses, many of whom have been creating jobs for decades, are worried. One automotive business saw £108,000 whacked onto their annual wage bill after last year’s NI rise. A farmer has shelved plans to construct a grain store. Others are not recruiting, expanding, or investing locally because of low confidence and uncertainty. 

MP Kit Malthouse (Image: House of Commons)

Meanwhile, as his Majesty’s loyal opposition, we have identified £47 billion in public spending savings — and we’ve worked up plans to use that money on sensible tax cuts that will grow the economy: abolishing stamp duty and business rates. 

Stamp duty is a bad tax that gums up the housing market. Getting rid of it would help young people buy their first home, growing families, and downsizers alike. Crucially, it will get the market moving and free up much needed space. In NW Hants, the move would deliver an average saving of £2,350 for a first-time buyer.

As for business rates, they’ve doubled in some cases this year, and combined with the NI rises, they are hurting our pubs, shops, and high streets. Scrapping this tax will save livelihoods and help revive our town centres. 

Both policies follow months of detailed consultation with business leaders and experts — and both are designed to help people keep more of their hard-earned money. Labour should steal our homework. But they won’t. 

By Kit Malthouse, MP for North West Hampshire