Barbara has criticised the Conservative Government’s Summer Budget because it will badly affect many working people while doing little to improve productivity or boost growth in the economy.

The Budget outlined deep cuts to tax credits which Barbara says will hit many thousands of people in Worsley and Eccles South. A lone parent with two children will lose £860 per year from the changes to tax credit but will only gain £400 from the increase to the National Minimum Wage. A couple with one person working full-time would lose over £2,000 in tax credits from the changes announced.

Barbara said:

“I am very concerned about the impact that this budget will have on working people in Salford. The Conservatives did not give details of these cuts before the General Election and so they cannot say they had a mandate for these changes.”

“The Budget fails to protect working people and those on low incomes. Over two thirds of families who receive tax credits are in work but they are going to bear the brunt of cuts from next year. Pushing more families into poverty will not provide the support needed to achieve the long-term growth and increased productivity that the country needs.”

“I have had many constituents contact me because they were concerned about the impact that tax credit cuts will have on them. Tax credits can mean that they can feed their children properly or they are used to help an older child attend College. We should be tackling the root causes of welfare spending -; low pay and high housing costs -; not making working people worse off by cutting tax credits before their pay improves.”