The Budget will do little to help the residents and businesses of Louth and Horncastle, says the Conservative MP for the area.

Victoria Atkins claims Labour Chancellor John Healey’s fiscal announcement, delivered last week, “contained very little of substance” and said: “My immediate thought was: is that it?”

The Budget’s major headline was a £100 energy-bill payment for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D to help families with the cost of living.

But Ms Atkins said: “The speech was accompanied by plenty of political spin, but the underlying numbers tell the real story.

Victoria Atkins, Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle, who was not impressed by Labour Chancellor John Healey's first Budget.

placeholder image — Victoria Atkins, Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle, who was not impressed by Labour Chancellor John Healey's first Budget.

"Borrowing is up, taxes are heading to record levels, welfare spending continues to surge, living standards are falling and there is still no additional funding for our Armed Forces.

"Even the Institute of Fiscal Studies concluded that while the Budget contained numerous smaller policies, very few oif them are likely to have any significant impact on economic growth.

"Particularly worrying are measures that will raise billions from business investment, personal savings and overseas investment.

"These are the very activities that drive economic growth, improve productivity and create jobs. The government should be encouraging them, not penalising them.

“Businesses across Louth and Horncastle regularly tell me about the pressures they already face, whether it is payroll costs, energy prices or regulatory burdens.

"Their ambition is to invest, recruit and grow. This Budget risks making each of these goals more difficult.”

Ms Atkins said she was particularly disappointed by the figures relating to household finances, which could leave residents in her Louth and Horncastle constituency worse off.

She commented: “The Office for Budget Responsibility expects real household disposable income per person to fall by 0.8 per cent in 2026/27.

"Compared with projections made under the previous Conservative government, living standards are now forecast to be almost £1,500 lower per person by the end of the forecast period.

”That represents a significant loss of disposable income for families across the country.”

Ms Atlkins was also annoyed that the Budget contained not a single reference to Lincolnshire and offered little help to the agricultural and defence sectors.

She went on: "There are major questions that remain unanswered. The government has spoken about reforming social care and increasing defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030, yet this Budget contained no new money to deliver either objective.

“Despite lots of big promises, there was no change to the vindictive family farm and family business taxes either. That means our farmers will continue facing a challenging global picture, with next to no support, while being actively targeted by the government.”