Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, said “With this Budget it is clear Labour has deceived the public and broken promises not to raise taxes. Raising National Insurance on employers is, in the Chancellor’s own words, a jobs tax. For all the talk of growth, even the OBR have downrated its growth forecast from March 2024 by 0.7pc, to 1.1pc.

“While I welcome the announcement of £1bn for Special Educational Needs and the freezing of fuel duty, both of which I have campaigned for, it can’t be said enough how simply changing the rules to borrow £50bn extra is a dereliction of duty and another demonstrable broken promise by the now Chancellor. 

“People in our community know that the money you borrow has to be paid back, this will come at a cost to jobs, growth and inflation. After all, there is no such thing as Government money just taxpayers heard earned cash. 

“Here, our farmers, our cafes and pubs and even our holidays have all seen tax increases. Without any clear plan for growth, I’m really worried about what the next year holds for people across our area.

“Going forward, I’ll be campaigning for the Government to re-commit to funding Leicester’s two new hospitals – a decision on which has been put off until next year – as well as exploring how we can secure new capital funding for local schools which the Labour Government has just announced.”