Vote Down the Budget

Ellen Nicholson calls on local MP, Dr Andrew Murrison, to vote down "shambolic" budget

Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for South West Wiltshire, Ellen Nicholson has called on Dr Andrew Murrison to oppose Kwasi Kwarteng's "shambolic" budget.

The call comes as the pound plummets to a record low against the dollar, which risks leading to rising food and petrol prices and spiking mortgage interest rates.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding Parliament be recalled this week, so that urgent action can be taken to address the unfolding disaster. They're also calling for a tougher windfall tax on oil and gas giants to help people and businesses with their bills, and new investment in local health services.

Ellen Nicholson said:

"The Chancellor's out of touch and shambolic budget has been exposed as a reckless gamble. The Conservatives are giving huge unfunded tax cuts to the banks, while neglecting local health services and hammering ordinary people with years of tax hikes.

"People in South West Wiltshire I've spoken to are really concerned about being landed with higher bills, higher taxes and higher mortgage payments thanks to the government's incompetence.

"Dr Murrison should listen to the concerns from our community, vote down this shambolic budget and back Liberal Democrat calls to support local people and businesses instead."

ENDS

Notes to the Editor:

Research by the Liberal Democrats has shown that the average family will pay £290 more in tax next year as a result of the freezing of income tax thresholds, despite the 1p cut to the basic rate announced last week. See Telegraph here.

The pound has fallen in value against every other currency in the world and earlier hit an all time low against the dollar.

Liberal Democrats are calling for:

An expanded windfall tax on oil and gas giants

A scrapping of the planned cut to corporation tax

A scrapping of the planned lift on bankers bonus caps

Guarantee support for businesses with energy costs for one year, not just six months, to provide greater certainty

freeze domestic energy prices at what they are now, instead of hiking them again next month

Invest in a winter rescue plan for the NHS to recruit more doctors, dentists and paramedics.