After 14 years in power, the Conservatives have failed the economy and our country.

They promised to fix the nation’s roof. But instead, they have broken the windows, kicked the door in, unplugged the fridge, dug up the plant pots, kicked the dog in the face, and now with this budget, they’re taking a torch to the foundations.

The UK has been plagued by low growth for the entirety of the Tories time in office. Now, having promised to kickstart growth, Sunak has instead presided over a recession.

National debt is now at the highest level since the 1960s, and this Parliament is on track to be the first in which real household disposable incomes fall at a time when costs are rising.

The headline news is the Chancellor’s 2p cut to national insurance. However, can we really call it a giveaway when it is being paid for by the public?

The freeze on income tax thresholds means the British public now have the highest tax burden since records began. And this is disproportionately paid for by the lowest earners, who are contributing an extra aggregate £26bn.

The abolishing of non-dom tax loophole is too little too late. If the Tories acted when Labour first proposed it in 2015, we could have paid for an extra 62K nurses, or 36K extra doctors for the NHS, every single year since. Millions of patients could have been treated earlier, off NHS waiting lists, and free to live their lives to the full.

Instead, the NHS is in the biggest crisis in its history, thanks to the Tories’ choices.

Rather than fixing our country through investing in public services, the Chancellor is committing to maintaining strict spending limits in the next Parliament which will mean further cuts to public services. This will include key areas such as justice and local government – both of which are already buckling under the strain.

The budget is particularly disastrous for disabled people. Despite repeatedly promising they would consult on a social energy tariff, there was nothing on this in the budget, demonstrating those were just empty words. Nor are there reports of any further cost-of-living or disability payments, despite continued pressures on households.

We are in the midst of the worst of cost-of-living crisis in a generation and yet it is scandalous that the govt is failing to provide any further financial support.