Political opinion: Laura Kyrke-Smith MP - The Budget will bring opportunity and fairness to Aylesbury and the villages

It's a budget that shows who we in this Labour Government are here for.

It's for children who are growing up in poverty. We're lifting the cruel two-child benefit cap to get money back into families’ pockets and to transform the life chances of those kids living in poverty, including 2,700 here in Aylesbury and the villages.

It's a budget for people who can't get the health care they need. We've made a commitment to build 250 new neighbourhood health centres, and I'll continue to fight for one of those in Aylesbury. That's on top of freezing prescription charges.

It's a budget for everyone struggling to pay their energy bills, with an average of £150 coming off bills per year from April next year, and up to £300 for poorer households.

It's a budget for our high streets and small businesses, with permanently lower tax rates for 750,000 retail and hospitality properties across the country, including in Aylesbury and on our village high streets. We're going after online businesses instead, with a customs duty on parcels for online retailers.

And it's a budget for workers whose wages never go far enough. An average full-time worker on the national minimum wage will earn up to £900 extra per year next year, benefiting 2.7 million workers across the country, thanks to our increase to the national minimum wage.

The Chancellor has been careful in this budget, maintaining fiscal responsibility—which is vital for economic stability and growth—while also delivering on our values: standing up for young people whose opportunities aren’t what they should be, and for people who aren't earning enough to make ends meet.

We hope this will be a fair budget that brings opportunity and fairness to Aylesbury and the villages.