Josh Simons MP: the chancellor made the right decisions in the budget

It was a budget that made it very clear whose side this government is on: the side of working people.

We all know the budget is one part of politics that has a direct impact on all of our lives, and I want to explain just a few parts of the budget which show that it’s making a difference to people here in the towns across Makerfield.

There are so many other parts of the budget I could focus on here – more funding for our schools, a better deal for Greater Manchester and its local government, electrification of our railways, and huge funding to fix our broken roads – but I want to highlight these because they go to the heart of what I, and the Labour Government, are about.

Three things that are about justice, about caring for others, and ultimately about doing right by struggling working people.

First, the budget ends the injustice of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme.

This is a 32% boost to the annual pensions of 112,000 former mineworkers and their families across the UK. Over 500 live in my constituency.

Mining powered the UK and its industry.

I’ve worked hard since I was elected, alongside other hardworking campaigners and Labour MPs, to fix this injustice.

I’m so proud that the contribution of miners in communities like ours will not be properly recognised by the UK Government.

Second, it massively increases the number of people who are eligible for Carers Allowance.

The biggest increase since it was created in the 1970s means around an additional 60,000 people are now eligible for the allowance, including 8,000 in the North West.

Caring for loved ones is exhausting enough without being stretched for cash too.

We’re also launching a review into the Carer’s Allowance overpayments scandal, which has seen the Government trying to reclaim thousands of pounds in an unacceptable manner.

We should always stand by people providing care for those who need it most.

Last, it provides the funding to fix our NHS.

The budget delivers the largest increase in health spending since 2010, when Labour were last in power, to provide 40,000 additional appointments a week across England, more investment in infrastructure, scanners and machines, tied to a 10 year plan which we will publish in the Spring.

I know so many of you are frustrated and let down not only by waiting times but also by the lack of health care centres in Orrell and Hindley Green.

I have begun to make real progress on this, backed by a Labour Government.

Our local NHS Trust, who I was so impressed by on a recent visit, is also one of a handful across the country who are being sent specialist teams specifically to help bring down waiting times.

Different people will tell you that we made the wrong choices, but I want to ask you – who do you think we should prioritise when times are tough?

I, for one, think Rachel Reeves has made the right decisions, for all of us.