Mail Weekly Column: 8 January 2024
Parliament returns on Monday, and much like my children, I’ve been sharpening my pencils ahead of the new term. Ahead of then, I wanted to take the opportunity of this relative lull to praise a couple of local heroes, and to outline some of the economic changes coming your way.
Firstly then, my congratulations go to everybody who was recognised in the King’s New Year 2024 Honours. To be awarded an Honour is a huge achievement and a recognition of the impact that they’ve had for the good of the community. 15 Cumbrians were recognised this year.
I’d especially like to congratulation two local residents from Furness.
Rebecca Robson from Women’s Community Matters has been awarded an OBE for services to victims of domestic abuse. She and the team at WCM help so very many people in the community who are in need, providing guidance, physical help, and community for those who most need it. Her honour is particularly well-deserved.
And Peter Garwood has been awarded a BEM in recognition of the work that he does in the community through Rotary, but most notably during the vaccination programme. Peter rallied a team of Rotarians and volunteers through COVID, helping to deliver nearly 100,000 jabs. Peter put in over 1,200 hours of volunteering himself. It is no exaggeration to say that the work that Peter organised saved lives. His honour is richly deserved.
My congratulations to Rebecca, Peter, and every other Cumbrian recognised in the King’s New Year Honours.
Secondly, on the economy and Furness.
The Autumn Finance Bill that I was proud to vote for in the last session of Parliament has measures coming into force this month, with substantial reductions in National Insurance, meaning tax cuts for many working people.
Tens of thousands of people across Furness, and 27 million across the country, will benefit from a cut to the main rate of National Insurance Contributions from 12% to 10%. For the average worker earning £35,000 a year, that will mean a £450 tax cut.
And for two million self-employed people NI has been cut too, meaning an average saving of £350 for someone earning £28,000 a year.
And businesses are now seeing a permanent £11billion a year tax cut, enabling them to invest for less and securing the livelihoods of their employees given the certainty this gives.
Finally, benefits have been uprated by 6.7% and pensions by 8.5%, as the Government maintains its commitment to see the country through cost of living pressures, maintaining the triple lock and helping the most vulnerable through this challenging period.
Earlier last year, the PM pledged to halve inflation - and through a number of tough decisions he has been able to achieve this, bringing it down from over 11% to 3.9% now. This is a huge achievement, and while there is much further to go, I hope that these tax cuts, the increase in the minimum wage, and uplifting of the state pension and benefits will mark the start of a better economic outlook for many of us in this new year.
At the tail end of last year, I met with senior officials at DWP and the Department for Education to discuss the extra support which they will be offering Furness through the Team Barrow project. We have a very tight labour market at present and lower than average unemployment - a good thing for individuals but very challenging for employers and especially for our SME community. Given the growth of the shipyard and potential for new nuclear up the road, this help will be more crucial than ever - to secure our children good careers, uplift the local economy, and deliver on some of these nationally important endeavours.
