Responding to today’s Spring Statement, Nigel Huddleston MP said the Chancellor had missed a clear opportunity to change course as Labour’s economic record continues to deteriorate
“This should have been the moment for the Chancellor to admit that Labour’s economic plan is failing,” said Nigel. “Instead, we saw more self-congratulation and more doubling down on decisions that are slowing growth, costing jobs and pushing taxes ever higher.”
Nigel pointed to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest forecasts, which show that economic growth for 2026 has been nearly halved, unemployment is increasing and welfare spending is rising sharply.
“Rachel Reeves spent half an hour congratulating herself on how well she is running the economy. I don’t think my constituents will see it that way. The word unemployment was conspicuously absent from her speech. There is a reason for that. Unemployment has already risen by nearly 300,000 under Labour and hidden in the supplementary OBR report was the fact that unemployment is forecast to increase by a further 100,000 which exceeds even the unemployment level during the pandemic. Youth unemployment is also the highest in Europe for the first time in a quarter of a century. That is the direct result of Labour’s jobs taxes and its failure to understand how businesses create work.”
Nigel said the contrast with the position Labour inherited could not be clearer.
“Labour took office with inflation at target, falling borrowing and one of the fastest-growing economies in the G7. Since then, taxes have been pushed to a historic high, borrowing has increased to levels not seen since 2010 outside the pandemic, and living standards are forecast to fall.”
He added: “A stronger country needs a stronger economy. That means backing businesses, reforming welfare so work always pays, and cutting the cost of employing people. Labour has done the opposite — and today’s Statement confirms that working people are paying the price.”
“The Conservatives have a clear, fully-funded plan to restore growth, get Britain working again and break Labour’s economic doom loop. Today showed once again that Labour does not.”
