Family funds doing a lot worse beneath Tories than when Labour was in energy

The Tories have sunk to their lowest ever ballot ranking as Labour warns they’ve pushed the economic system “into a dead end”.

Ahead of the Budget on Wednesday, the Government’s dismal file on boosting household funds has been uncovered. Figures present that family incomes have risen slower beneath the Conservatives than when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had been in No10.

Between 1997 and 2010, the common disposable earnings went up from £1,219 per 30 days to £1,568 in actual phrases, which was a 28.6% improve. In the 13 years since then, it grew by simply 11% to £1,746.

Darren Jones, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, stated: “The Conservatives’ record on the economy is in tatters, with higher debt, higher taxes and lower growth the defining hallmark of their rule. By contrast, the former Labour Government oversaw a huge boost in the growth of working people’s average incomes, meaning more money in pockets at the end of each week.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. A Labour Government would reverse the Tories’ national decline by creating decent jobs, building 1.5 million new homes and strengthening our communities by building the industries we need for the future.”

It comes as the Conservatives suffered a poll humiliation on the eve of the Budget as their support fell to just 20% in an Ipsos survey. That is the lowest figure it has recorded since it began its regular polling in 1978. It puts Rishi Sunak’s party 27 points behind Labour.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is plotting a raid on the public sector in a desperate last ditch bid to find the cash to pay for tax cuts. He is thought to be trying to scrape together the money to take 2p off National Insurance. Mr Hunt did the same in the Autumn Statement in November, but it failed to move the polls. The levy on wages was previously hiked to its highest ever level when Mr Sunak was Chancellor.

In a speech on Monday, Labour’s Liz Kendall said: “Whatever Mr Hunt announces, it won’t make up for 14 years of economic failure under this Conservative government. They claim the economy has turned a corner, but they’ve driven it into a dead end.”

The Work and Pensions Secretary added: “Our economy [is] smaller now than when the Prime Minister first entered Downing Street. The biggest hit to living standards on record. The highest tax burden for 70 years. More foodbanks than police stations. Public services on their knees. People in this country don’t need statistics to tell them the state we are in or that they’re paying more but getting less.”

Mr Hunt instructed {that a} extra “efficient” public sector might give him larger scope for tax cuts. The Chancellor stated: “We do wish to transfer to a decrease taxed economic system, however we’re solely going to take action in a means that’s accountable and recognises that there are issues that taxes pay for, that we could not lower taxes by borrowing.

“We’ll do so in a responsible way. But if we can spend money on public services more efficiently then that will mean less pressure on taxpayers.”