Crawley MP welcomes Government’s growth plan: Labour leader calls it ‘An ideological budget purely designed to benefit the rich’

Henry Smith MP has welcomed the Chancellor’s measures set out for families across Crawley who will have their energy bills cut by up to £1,400 through the Energy Price Guarantee, whilst businesses eligible for the ‘Energy Bill Relief Scheme’ will have their energy bills slashed by cutting the price of wholesale gas.

The Chancellor also confirmed people in Crawley will benefit from personal tax cuts. This will cut national insurance contributions by 1.25 per cent, putting an extra £330 a year in people’s pockets and helping them with cost-of-living pressures.

Crawley Labour leader, Cllr Michael Jones said: “This was an ideological budget purely designed to benefit the rich and no amount of window dressing from our Tory MP here in Crawley, or his friends, can disguise it. Wages are falling, the economy is on the brink of recession and our NHS is on its knees.

“An estimated 1 in 5 people are falling behind on their bills in Crawley, so it is staggering that the Conservatives' plan to deal with the cost of living is to abolish the highest rate of income tax for those earning over £150,000 a year, lift the cap on bankers' bonuses and resist a windfall tax on the bumper profits of oil and gas companies.

“This will mean higher tax and borrowing for the rest of us. They can’t claim credit for the national insurance cuts because they are the ones who unfairly hiked it up in the first place.

“After more than a decade in power, the Conservatives have delivered nothing for the people of Crawley except an ailing economy, high taxes for those on low incomes, and collapsing public services. If I was Henry Smith, I wouldn’t be crowing about it.”

Henry comments that he believes that the Government has come forward with a serious support package and a plan for growth.

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Henry said: “I welcome support set out for people across Crawley today, including cuts to National Insurance contributions, Income Tax and Stamp Duty – all helping families to keep more of their hard-earned money.”