A Budget for Britain
Today the Chancellor announced her budget for 2025 (Video, Hansard & Red Book). This budget comes at a difficult time for our country. Our public finances are stretched, and I know that the cost-of-living impacts many of you daily.  

Last year’s budget focused on stabilising government finances and safeguarding essential public services after years of instability caused by having four Prime Ministers and six chancellors in just five years under the Conservatives. The decisions announced today build on that foundation and will serve working people and businesses up and down the UK.  

I was particularly proud that the Chancellor mentioned my recent work on both pre-1997 pensions and compensation for the infected blood scandal. I welcome the news that she will exempt all payments from the infected blood scheme from inheritance tax. It is right that they are fully and justly compensated for the terrible failure of the state. On pre-1997 payments, today’s announcement confirmed that future payments made by the Pension Protection Fund and the Financial Assurance Scheme  will be linked to inflation, preventing further real terms income cuts.  

How This Budget Will Improve Lives  
The measures the Chancellor set out today will make a tangible difference in the lives of Edinburgh South West residents and people up and down the UK.  

Among the announcements on funding, was news of an additional direct £820 million for the Scottish Government, comprising £310 million in capital spending and £510 million resource spending guaranteed by the Barnett Formula.  This money must be spent on making vital investments to our NHS, housing and communities. I hope the SNP will not waste these funds.  

From April, the national minimum wage will rise, and households will save an average £150 on their energy bills. Alongside our Employment Rights Bill, these changes will put extra money in the pockets of working people and ensure fair working conditions.  

To tackle obesity, the Government will widen the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to include milk-based drinks and reduce the threshold to 4.5g of sugars per 100ml. This is not just beneficial for public health, especially childhood obesity, but also the public finances, with experts estimating the resulting calorie reductions could lead to benefits of around £4.2 billion over 25 years.  

To support our high streets, the Chancellor has announced that customs duty will apply to parcels of any value entering the UK. Furthermore, business rates in England have been permanently lowered for over 750,000 business, retail and hospitality properties, reaching the lowest rates since 1991.  This will be paid for by higher rates on bigger properties owned by online and international giants. These reforms back the British businesses that make up our high streets. I hope the Scottish Government will follow this lead.  

Finally, and perhaps most notably, the Chancellor announced that she would scrap the Conservative’s two child benefit cap. This cruel policy which meant parents could only claim universal credit tax credits for their first two children, disproportionately impacted women, minority groups and larger families.  

While the Conservatives argued that this policy would discourage parents from having children they could not afford, this has not become reality. In fact, a recent study showed that since the policy’s introduction in 2017, there has been little to no decline in fertility among low-income families.

The lifting of the cap could benefit 1,300 children in Edinburgh South West, where currently an estimated 20% of children are growing up in poverty. Nationally, the removal of the cap will reduce relative child poverty by 450,000 by the end of the decade. This makes it the most cost-effective benefit policy for reducing child poverty and today’s announcement is a clear statement of intent for this government.  

I also strongly support the Chancellor’s decision to remove the abhorent ‘rape clause’ from child benefits. This cruel clause made mothers prove that their children had been conceived as a result of rape in order to access specific benefits, and it is right that this has now been removed.  

One of the defining legacies of the last Labour Government was to slash child poverty. With the removal of this cap, alongside the expansion of breakfast clubs in England, and the upcoming child poverty strategy, I am proud that this Government is working hard to leave the same legacy.  

How We Will Pay for This  
Where there is increased investment, we must also make fair decisions to fund this spending.  

Today the Chancellor announced a host of reforms to the tax system, ranging from gambling to salary sacrifice pension contributions. She also confirmed that although the Conservative freeze on tax thresholds will be extended towards the end of the parliament, there will be no direct increases on personal income tax, national insurance or VAT.  

Changes will be made to gambling and gaming duties. I am pleased that duties I lobbied for on remote gaming are set to almost double and duty on online betting will increase from 15% to 20%. However, there will be no change to taxes on in person gambling or horse racing, and bingo duty will be abolished next year.   

Everyone who drives on our roads must help maintain them. As a result, from 2028, electric vehicle owners in will be charged per mile in new road pricing. This will be at a rate of 1.5p for plug in hybrid models and 3p per mile for EVs. In England, the income will be used to double road maintenance funding over the course of this Parliament 

However, this will be accompanied by an additional £1.3bn for the Electric Car Grant scheme and £200m to expand charging infrastructure in England (Holyrood will receive Barnett formula consequential funding to spend at it chooses). These measures will make it easier for more people to switch to electric vehicles, supporting both the country’s long-term decarbonisation goals and the high-quality manufacturing jobs associated with EV production.  

There will also be changes for income from dividends with an increase of 2% and on income from savings. From April 2027 there will be a 2% increase to the basic, higher and additional rates of savings income tax.   However, 90% of savers will still pay no income tax on their savings.  For those using salary sacrifice pensions schemes, a £2,000 cap on tax free contributions will be introduced from April 2029. 

We are asking everyone to contribute but recognising that a just and effective tax system is one that asks the wealthiest to contribute their fair share.   

That is why we are reforming property taxes so that a £10 million mansion in Westminster does not pay less than a terraced house in Blackpool. This charge will not apply to Scotland, but the Scottish Government may decide to copy it. 

The decisions to raise certain taxes is never easy but they must be fair. The measures announced today will help fund vital improvements to our public services, and ensure that all children are given the best possible start to life.  

Conclusion  
I know that the speculation leading up to the budget, fuelled by opposition parties and some part of the media, has caused concerns for many constituents. I hope that the announcements today have given you clarity on the actions of this government and I look forward to hearing from many of you about this budget in the coming days and weeks.  

This budget shows we are building a stronger and more secure economy. The Chancellor is making the fair and necessary choice to deliver change and ensure we do not return to austerity or lose control of public spending. We are beating the forecasts with growth upgraded to 1.5% from 1% and wages are up more in the first year of this Government than the first decade under the Conservatives.  

I am proud that this government is creating a tax system that is just and effective, ensuring that we all contribute, but that the heaviest burdens rest on those that can afford it. I am also proud that this budget demonstrated without doubt our commitment to reducing child poverty.  

But there is still more to do, and I will continue to push to make change after years of decline, strengthen our communities and improve the lives of every resident in Edinburgh South West.