A welcome to Kemi Badenoch who took the helm of the Conservatives last weekend. Though I don’t share many of her values or political priorities, I was encouraged by some of what she promised at her acceptance speech. She assured us that “to be heard we have to be honest — honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip”. This is welcome. Though it would be meaningless if she failed to offer examples of the “mistakes” she refers to, and the standards she believes were permitted to slip. Otherwise, it’s just more, empty verbiage.

Worryingly, instead of accepting that the Downing Street parties during pandemic lockdown (while thousands of law-abiding citizens were forbidden from visiting dying loved-ones or attending funerals) was an example of a “mistake” or “slipped standards”, Ms Badenoch chose to double-down and to describe criticism of the parties as “overblown”, and repeated her backing of Boris Johnson’s judgement. Concerning…

I managed one cheer for the Chancellor’s Budget last week. I judged it to be “a job half done”. She described the problems her government inherited – NHS in crisis, housing emergency, turmoil in special education etc – but failed to fully address these critical issues and expected many of those who are least able to pay for it to pay more tax, while the super-rich get off scot-free again. This goes against the Prime Minister's pledge that “those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden.”

Instead of targeting small businesses, employees and bus users, the Chancellor should have reversed the tax cuts introduced by the Conservatives on the big banks, big corporations, and raised more from the Oil giants, social media conglomerates, property investors, and land value speculators.

There are positives in the budget — important steps toward supporting healthcare, education (especially special educational needs), and housing. These are all crucial if we are to rebuild our country, restore the NHS, and tackle the housing emergency. The decision to freeze fuel duty and allocate sufficient funds for compensation related to the infected blood and the Post Office Horizon scandals is long overdue, as these were promises the Conservatives made but failed to budget for.

However, my concerns remain over the budget’s failure to adequately address struggling sectors, including social care, local government finance, and the pressures facing small family farmers. The 50 per cent increase in capped bus fares and continued uncertainty over promised “new hospitals” (including our Women & Children’s Unit at Treliske), and the failure to protect GP surgeries, hospices and care companies are amongst the key failures.

While this budget includes some essential public investments, it falls short on core issues. We’re left with half-measures. The Chancellor missed an opportunity to resolve key challenges and, in some cases, has worsened them. The government will inevitably need to revisit these critical issues before they become a deeper and less resolvable crisis.

Andrew George

Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives