What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

For all the Tories talk of being a “worker’s party” they have betrayed millions of working people today.

This is the first Budget from Philip Hammond , yet he is continuing with Osborne’s £70billion tax giveaways to a wealthy few at the top, while breaking another manifesto commitment by whacking a £2billion tax hike on low and middle earners who are self-employed.

And he is doing nothing for working families as rising inflation squeezes household budgets.

In fact, he is cutting the National Living Wage by 25p at the end of this Parliament while over the next five years households in our country will be £1,800 worse off.

Philip Hammond likes to nickname himself “Spreadsheet Phil”, for his love of spreadsheets that layout government spending.

(Image: Parliamentlive.tv)

But it was not the numbers on the spreadsheet that has meant our NHS will continue to be in a state emergency and our social care system remains in crisis. That is all down to Phil, who chose not to give them the money.

The Budget this year fell on international women’s day. And although it is good we have a female Prime Minister, Theresa May has supported every tax and benefit change in the last seven year, which has meant 86% of the cuts have fallen on women. And after today they still will.

(Image: PA)

The Tories' rigged economy in which six million people earn less than the living wage, and four million children are in poverty will continue.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Labour will oppose this unfair £2billion tax on self-employed low and middle earners, who are the plumbers, hairdressers and cleaners in our local communities.

Labour will bring in a £10 per hour real living wage, cap energy prices, and bring the railways back into public ownership to keep the cost of living down.

While he and Theresa May refuse to publish their tax returns, Labour will end zero-hour contracts, tackle excessive boardroom pay, and make the super-rich publish their tax returns.

Only Labour can be trusted to provide the funding that our NHS needs, and protect our elderly and vulnerable who need care, as we founded the NHS.

A Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn, which will herald in the greatest transformation our country has seen since the 1945 Labour government, the Tories know this and it fear it deeply.

Instead of equipping our country for Brexit, he is building our economy on sand, and the little he has announced today will mean we are less prepared for the challenges we face outside of the EU.