Spring Budget 2024: Government fails to deliver on Usdaw’s calls for a new deal for workers and a retail recovery plan

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Today the Chancellor did the exact opposite of what our members and all workers need. He hasn’t listened, fails to take the real action working people need and has instead made a desperate attempt to bribe the electorate and grab headlines, which will not work. There are substantial issues facing this country, which were not addressed by the Chancellor and after 14 years of failure, the time is up for the Tories.

“The ongoing cost of living crisis remains a key challenge. Rising prices, along with still very high energy costs, leave too many workers struggling to make ends meet. The Chancellor didn’t deliver lasting solutions to cost of living pressures with a new deal for workers. A new deal that makes work pay with a real living wage. Alongside this, we need an end to one-sided flexibility with a ban on zero and short hours contracts to provide much needed security of employment and income.

“Universal Credit remains universally discredited. Usdaw has consistently called for a fundamental overhaul of the Universal Credit system and in how the Government supports the incomes of working people. We need social security that genuinely supports families and provides a proper safety net. Parents also need better and cheaper access to childcare, with the existing provision being largely unavailable and unaffordable for most low-paid workers. This Budget was a missed opportunity to support working parents.

“For many years the retail sector, particularly the high street, has experienced significant and fundamental challenges. Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have both intensified these systemic problems. At the core of these issues is the uneven playing field between online and in-store retail, particularly regarding business rates. We needed a commitment to a fundamental reform of business taxation affecting the retail sector, it was not forthcoming.

“This Budget was a chance for the Conservative Government to finally show that after 14 years of mismanaging the country, they are listening. Instead, they failed to offer the change our members so desperately need.  They prioritised tax cuts for the rich over investment in crumbling services that most working people rely on. It is clear that it is time for a change and that can only come through a general election and a new government. For our members that cannot come too soon.”