Responding to the Spring Statement

26 Mar 2025

Today the Chancellor had the opportunity to deliver on the change that the Labour Party has promised, but Rachel Reeves missed her chance to deliver policies that people in Portsmouth and across the country need.

Today’s Spring Statement confirmed that Labour will push forward on their jobs tax, putting shops in North End, Palmerston Road, Cosham High Street, and shops throughout the city at risk. Labour’s job tax will even put GPs, hospices and care homes throughout the city on the hook for higher costs. The Lib Dems in Parliament have put forward sensible suggestions to raise the money the country needs by asking Elon Musk and other billionaire social media giants to pay their fair share, but the government would rather increase tax on local businesses looking to invest in our communities.

Labour has also turned their backs on the most vulnerable people in our community with changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), support which is essential to keeping disabled people in work and providing them with dignity. People across Portsmouth have told us the impact these cruel cuts will have on them. We know that the economy doesn’t work unless it’s working for everyone.

Across our city, people are struggling with higher energy bills, broken services, and the fallout of Labour’s tax rises. People who backed their promise of change last year now feel let down by Labour.

Charlie Murphy, Portsmouth Lib Dems' Parliamentary Spokesperson

If the Labour Party were serious about boosting growth, the Chancellor would have been honest with the British public – Labour’s job tax is costing jobs, their farm tax is threatening our food security, and their disability cuts are stripping people of their dignity and locking them out of work.

Today, the Chancellor had an opportunity to deliver real action to finally get the economy back on track. It is time for the government to fix the mess they made in the Autumn Budget and deliver a real plan for growth to finally get our economy growing.

Daisy Cooper MP, Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson

The Lib Dems have proven – in Parliament and in Portsmouth – that there is a fairer way of delivering public services that work for everyone. Lib Dems in Westminster offered suggestions to safeguard disabled people and to lift thousands of children out of poverty, but Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer, and the Labour government ignored every one of them.


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