This Budget Was a Missed Opportunity for Newbury and West Berkshire

Labour was elected on a promise to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and grow the economy. Yet this is now their second Budget in which they have failed to do either. For millions of people already struggling, this Budget offers very little beyond higher taxes and more uncertainty.

There are, however, a small number of areas where the Government has done the right thing, and it is important to recognise them.

The first is the removal of the two-child benefit cap. All the evidence shows that the most effective way to lift children out of poverty is to abolish that cap. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, reversing the two-child limit will pull 540,000 children above the absolute poverty line, reducing absolute child poverty by four percentage points. Children do not choose the circumstances of their birth, and they certainly should not carry the burden of a political decision that pushes families into hardship. Ending this policy will make a real and immediate difference.

I only wish the Government could simply acknowledge that it should never have taken this long.

The other significant win for Newbury follows sustained campaigning from myself, cross-party colleagues, and the British Horseracing Authority. We have succeeded in preventing the Government from raising taxes on on-course and in-person betting. This matters enormously to the rural economy in Lambourn and to Newbury Racecourse.

The horseracing sector in and around Lambourn is valued at over £22 million a year, supporting one in three local jobs. Newbury Racecourse employs almost 100 people year-round and more than 600 on major race days. Nearly 200,000 visitors come through its gates each year, supporting hotels, restaurants, small businesses and supply chains. Beyond the economics, racing is part of our local identity. I am pleased that the Chancellor has listened.

Sadly, that is where my praise for this Budget ends.

We needed clarity on social rent convergence, something councils, housing associations and tenants have been preparing for years. Instead, the Government has delayed yet again, pushing decisions back until January 2026. In Newbury, this stalls essential repairs, delays new social housing, and prevents long-term planning. Families across Wash Common, Greenham, Thatcham, and Lambourn need affordable homes now, not another year of dithering.

Then there is the state of the public finances. National debt is now set to rise from 95% of GDP this year to 96% by the end of the decade, higher than projected even in March. For West Berkshire Council, already one of the most financially constrained in the South East, that means tighter budgets for SEND provision, adult social care, road maintenance, transport and vital local services. Earlier this year, the Council needed £16 million in emergency support. Rising debt leaves even less room for investment.

Our farmers will also feel deeply let down. The Budget’s Inheritance Tax tweaks are little more than window dressing. Farmers across rural Berkshire have been clear: without meaningful reform, some family farms may not survive. These farms are businesses, yes, but they are also custodians of the land and cornerstones of rural life. Ministers know the scale of concern, yet they have chosen to tinker around the edges instead of acting.

Families across Newbury will also be hit by the extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds, a £67 billion tax rise by 2030–31. Ten million people will be dragged into higher tax bands. Teachers, nurses and small-business employees will pay more despite only modest pay increases. It is the wrong approach during a cost-of-living crisis.

If the Government were serious about growth, they would fix the botched Brexit deal. A UK–EU customs union could give a major boost to West Berkshire’s advanced manufacturers and life-science firms, raising an estimated £25 billion a year for the UK. That is how you grow an economy, not through stealth taxes on working families.

The Government also confirmed that from 2027–28, it will freeze the repayment and interest thresholds for Plan 2 student loans. This is yet another stealth tax. For young people in Newbury, whether they are at university or returning home to start their careers, this means higher repayments just as wages stagnate. We should be encouraging aspiration, not penalising it.

And finally, the Budget targets pensions. Changes to salary sacrifice risk becoming the jobs tax all over again. Small businesses in Newbury, Thatcham and our rural villages need certainty over employment costs, and workers need confidence that saving for retirement is worthwhile. At a time when many have already cut contributions due to rising living costs, the Government’s approach disincentivises saving even further.

For Newbury, this Budget represents missed opportunities, broken promises and stealth-tax squeezes on families, young people, farmers, and small businesses. We needed hope, investment and ambition. Instead, we have more uncertainty, higher taxes and a debt trajectory that locks us into difficult choices for years to come.

My constituents deserve better, and I will continue fighting for that better future at every stage.