Contribution
For many people struggling with the rising cost of living, this Budget provides real relief. Above all, the Chancellor has committed to scrapping the two-child benefit cap. That is a testament to the campaigners, who have worked tirelessly for years, and to hon. Members across the House who have repeatedly called for the reversal of this cruel policy. It will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, including around 69,000 in Wales—a substantial achievement.
Other measures are also incredibly welcome. The increase in the minimum wage and the living wage—building on the April 2025 rise, which has already benefited around 160,000 workers in Wales—is a massive move in the right direction to a fairer economy. Reducing household energy bills by an average of £150 per home will bring practical relief to families. For those of us representing rural constituencies, the decision to keep fuel duty frozen is essential to daily life, to work, and to accessing basic and vital services.
I greatly welcome the additional £505 million allocated to the Welsh Government, on top of the largest uplift since devolution, which was delivered at the spending review. That funding will support essential services and investment across Wales.
The Budget takes some initial steps towards wealth redistribution. The council tax surcharge on homes worth more than £2 million, the 67% increased levies on online gambling, and the closure of the loophole that allowed rapidly growing ultra-low-cost platforms to ship goods into the UK tax-free are all sensible and highly welcome reforms and demonstrate success in shifting the national conversation on wealth taxation. However, inequality in the UK is stark, with 20% of people owning two thirds of the country’s wealth.
The very welcome mansion tax is expected by the OBR to raise around £400 million per year by 2029-30, yet approximately £38 billion could be raised through even more progressive wealth tax measures, which some of us on the Back Benches have been calling for, such as equalising capital gains tax with income tax or introducing a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million. The depth of inequality we face demands bolder action than what we have seen.
Let me turn to two areas that I believe the Budget does not address. The decision to keep local housing allowance frozen when it is already so far out of line with the true cost of rent will push thousands more people into homelessness and dramatically increase the pressure on the already overstretched temporary accommodation budgets of local councils. Only 1% of properties in Wales are currently affordable to those relying on LHA. With rents continuing to rise, I urge the Government to act before that figure falls to zero.
Let me turn to agricultural property relief. While the adjustment allowing married farmers or widowed spouses to transfer inheritance tax allowances is welcome, it will support only a small number of families. It does not address the serious pressure that APR places on elderly and terminally ill farmers or the serious effect that the APR proposals are having on the mental health of farmers. It does not sufficiently protect family-run farms, our food security, or the livelihoods that underpin rural communities. Much more thought is needed here.
The thresholds remain too low. I have visited family dairy farms, and I know that they have to add up a herd of Friesians, the amount of land needed to graze them, the tractor and other farm machinery, the farmhouse, barns and outbuildings, slurry tanks, and water pumping facilities—Friesians drink a lot of water during milking seasons, and many Welsh farmers are a long way up hills and mountains. We need to tax the Clarksons, the Dysons and other plutocrats more, but not family farms.
I became a Labour MP to reduce poverty, tackle inequality and stand up for my constituents. While the Budget contains very welcome adjustments, we need to go further to address the hardship facing millions across the UK.