Sheffield Liberal Democrats condemn ‘cost of chaos’ Budget

Sheffield Liberal Democrats are condemning the Chancellor’s autumn statement as a ‘cost of chaos’ budget, and are warning that the tax freezes and energy increases announced today will mean greater hardship for Sheffield households.

Among the measures announced by the Treasury today, it was revealed that the energy price cap was set to rise to £3000 by April, meaning that the average family will pay £500 more over the course of a year.

Furthermore, the Income Tax personal allowance and National Insurance Contributions limits will be frozen for another two years, until April 2028. This will mean that thousands of Sheffield families will be dragged into higher tax thresholds if their earnings increase by inflation, putting even greater pressure on struggling households.

These measures are, in large part, necessary due to the disastrous and chaotic mini budget set by Liz Truss in September, which has led to an increase in borrowing costs to the government of up to £10bn by 2025.

The budget also spells bad news for the city’s work towards net zero by 2030. Sheffield City Council has been working to incentivise take up of electric vehicles, including by providing electric chargers and through working on implementing a Clean Air Zone by Spring 2023.

However, the Chancellor announced that electric vehicles would by 2025 be liable to pay Vehicle Excise Duty, a measure that will significantly increase the cost of transition for drivers.

Sheffield Lib Dem leader Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed said “It’s an absolute disgrace that Sheffield households are being expected to clean up the Tory party’s mess.

The conservatives crashed the economy and sent mortgage bills skyrocketing, and now they’re imposing tax hikes and real terms cuts to our public services.

They let oil and gas firms evade the windfall tax for months, missing out on millions of pounds of revenue, for which the taxpayer is now paying the price. By increasing the amount local authorities can raise Council Tax by, they’re passing the buck for the really vicious tax rises onto councils, who are searching for any way to cover their own shortfalls.

The increase in social rent by 7% will be yet another burden for our tenants, who are often some of the more vulnerable people in the city.

I’m incredibly proud of the work that Sheffield City Council has achieved across party lines to tackle the cost of living crisis, such as the Local Assistance Scheme and the Food Access Plan, but unfortunately this budget has come as a massive setback to that vital work.”