So now we’ve had the long-awaited budget, we’re much clearer on this Labour government’s priorities.

Before the election it was repeatedly promised that those with the broadest shoulders would carry the heaviest burden. Since the election, we had not been able to adequately demonstrate that. But following a budget with tax-raising measures which focus on the non-dom super-rich, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and private school VAT, there is absolutely no doubt about the direction of travel. Here are three policies from it, which may have slipped the attention that they deserved.

1. Since I was elected I’ve tried to run weekly surgeries across the constituency. One of the commonest issues that crops up time and again is that of the complete failure to provide adequate services and support for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). Each story is slightly different and each one is truly harrowing. The system needs an urgent and complete overhaul. So, I am absolutely delighted that education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, with whom I discussed a number of cases in Camborne and Redruth, has successfully lobbied Chancellor Rachel Reeves to allocate a massive £1-billion to support the transformation of our SEND services.

2. Despite the cost of living crisis and the fact that in Cornwall we have some of the highest ambulance waiting times in the country, neither of these are the commonest issue that is raised on the doorstep. Consistently, it is a lack of truly affordable and social rented homes. Part (but not all) of the issue, is that we have far too many AirBnBs and second homes in Cornwall. Many of these are on the coast, so while they don’t directly impact us in the towns of Camborne and Redruth, there is a significant indirect impact, as families become displaced and move inland increase pressure on housing supply, pushing prices ever higher. So, I was absolutely delighted that one of the key objectives of the ‘First Homes Not Second Homes’ campaign was realised by Chancellor Reeves, when she more than doubled stamp duty on second homes, from two per cent or five per cent. Hopefully this will be act as a major deterrent to folk thinking of buying a second home in Cornwall.

3. This is one that I don’t think the Chancellor actually mentioned in her speech but that has a big impact on us in Cornwall. The last Labour MP in Cornwall, Candy Atherton was instrumental in winning a huge support and development grant from the EU. When we left the EU, the last government created the ‘Shared Prosperity Fund’ (SPF) which was a significantly reduced replacement for the EU deal. Despite the dire financial situation we inherited from the Conservatives and after an extensive round of lobbying ministers, along with my three other Cornish Labour MP colleagues, more SPF funding has been confirmed for at least another 12 months. Its worth reflecting that if the Conservatives had won the election they would have scrapped our funding to pay for National Service!

Perran Moon

Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth