By james art County Durham residents lashed out at Rachel Reeves after she presented her budget in the House of Commons yesterday.
The chancellor revealed the budget aims to raise £40 billion in taxes to deal with what Reeves called the “scale and severity” of the economic situation inherited from the previous administration.
A key measure is the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, which will rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15 per cent from April 2025. This change is expected to generate £25 billion a year for the government.
Although Reeves promised that working people would not see higher taxes in their paychecks, concerns were raised about the potential effects on small businesses and job security.
Lynn and Stephen attack the government
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Speaking to GB News, one Durham resident named Lynn said: “I feel sorry for the small local businesses, like the little cafes and things like that.
“Their budgets aren’t fantastic and now they’re going to be hit with more taxes. I’m worried people are going to lose their jobs.”
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Emily asked, “What is something that comes up quite often? Is this North-South divide really in terms of spending going into transport and things in the South, that maybe you want a bit of that cherry up here.’
Discussing the North-South divide, another resident named Stephen said: “They’ve just announced they’re going to put HS2 into Euston, we couldn’t even get it to Newcastle.
“You know what I mean? They just want to keep us locked up in the north.”
Lynn added: “I think what they’re going to do, if they get away with it, is just build a sort of Berlin wall between us and the South, a Trump wall.”
Rachel Reeves presented her budget yesterday
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Chancellor Reeves acknowledged the difficulty of this decision, saying, “We are asking businesses to contribute more.
“I know the impact of this measure will be felt beyond business, as the OBR has indicated today.”
The government justifies this measure as necessary to finance public services and restore economic stability.
Residents Lynn and Steven said they were worried
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The budget also introduces changes to inheritance tax and pensions, causing concern among pensioners.
From April 2027, pension funds will be included in inheritance tax and reforms to farm and business property relief are expected to raise £2bn a year.
The chancellor has announced that inheritance tax thresholds will remain frozen until 2030, extending the previous government’s policy by two years.
This means that the first £325,000 of any estate can be inherited tax-free, rising to £500,000 if the inheritance includes a home passed down to direct descendants.