Mum-of-four Claire-Marie Bray praised the lifting of the two-child benefit cap as meaning “absolutely the world” – finally giving some much-needed breathing space for the family
Brits across the country have been holding out hope today’s Budget will make their lives that little bit easier with some sharing their struggles with the Mirror about whether more money will end up in their pockets as Labour strives for what Keir Starmer called a “fairer” Britain.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had a £20billion financial black hole to fill following 14 years of catastrophic Tory austerity. While she had been expected to raise taxes, there remains some good news for families – particularly those less well off.
Today’s budget sets out the raising of national and living minimum wages from April, freezing rail fares, slashing NHS waiting times and supporting pensioners through the triple lock – and abolishing the two-child benefit cap. Here are some who have revealed whether the Budget has ticked any of their biggest wants off their checklist.
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Claire-Marie Bray, 27, unemployed, Nuneaton: Mum-of-four Claire-Marie and her partner Kieran receive Universal Credit and have struggled to make ends meet with £200 a month for her family of six with another child on the way. Labour’s scrapping of the child benefit cap from April next year means “absolutely the world” for Claire-Marie’s family who top up food shops with visits to the food bank.
An with Christmas around the corner, the boost could mean treating the family as well. “It will help massively,” Claire-Marie said. “I’ve had to shop in charity shops for the bare basics for Christmas and we can now get something a bit nicer as well as a nice quality Christmas dinner. It would mean the world to me to see their little faces…it will be a magical Christmas. “
She told The Mirror: “Even an extra £50 a month would help. With the kids getting older they need more stuff and bigger clothes. My 6-year-old, she’s nearly 7, is having a growth spurt here and there, so it [the benefit cap being scrapped] would mean absolutely the world really.”
The lifting of the cap also means the family would be able to move toward clearing debts that have drained between £100 and £150 from the family’s monthly finances. “It’s the constant worry of bailiffs coming to the door, they’ve come into the house and seen what goods we’ve got,” she added. “Luckily we’ve been able to sort out a payment plan but it’s that dread of ‘are they going to come to the house or not?'”
“We are in debt with the gas and electric so that would definitely help. With having kids in the house, we’ve tried to keep the house as warm as possible.”
Claire-Marie and Kieran have set up a GoFundMe to support their family, which you can visit here.
Thea Jaffe, 40, single parent, North London: Thea works full-time in client solutions but says the two-child limit was pushing them into poverty and taking a toll on her mental health. She added: “Rachel Reeves really did save the best to last. I was waiting in suspense for the entire time. It was so emotional, I burst out crying. Now every child will be equal and not punished for their family’s situation. This isn’t just a win for children but women too.”
In a good month when UC gives full entitlement, Thea has a total of £6,142.00, from £2,800 in take-home pay and £3,342 in universal credit plus child benefit. Her monthly expenses such as childcare, rent, council tax, energy and food etc are usually around £6000. She says: “So it’s living very much on the edge.”
Thea welcomed the Budget changes, saying: “Women and their rights have also been acknowledged, like removing the rape clause in the two-child cap. We need to change the narrative. These policies have just been adopted through Governments, using poverty as a threat, blaming the most vulnerable.
“This really is a step in the right direction. It will mean I don’t have to worry if I need to call a taxi to take my child to A&E, it’ll mean I can spend a weekend with children without worrying and just being present. It’ll mean I can buy winter clothes or buy my son a bike so he can get to secondary school next year. When Rachel Reeves talks about a fiscal black hole – I know what that’s like, it’s my life.
“To live in the UK and to keep up with some standard of care, you need a financial cushion, or you just end up falling behind. But I want to ask the Government what is next, I expected this to happen when the Government came into power. Why has it taken so long?”
Zoe Ferron-Williams, 37, internal recruiter, North London: Zoe is a mum to three children. Despite working full-time as an internal recruiter for a housing provider in North London, she still struggles with cost-of-living. She visits Family Action’s Food Club in Hertfordshire, where she receives a discounted food box. Zoe has just £300 after paying rent, bills and council tax, to spend on herself and three sons and relies on Tesco Clubcard vouchers and discounts. Her council tax is £1,200 a year.
She welcomes the news that inflation will be reduced and there will be no return to austerity with this Budget. Zoe said: “My biggest challenge is trying to get through the month, pay cheque to pay cheque. While my wage is fairly decent it isn’t in line with inflation and the cost of living.
“The price of things keep rising as do bills, petrol, insurances, road tax, it goes on, but the salaries don’t go up. The Government needs to match salaries in line with inflation. For my generation it is really difficult to get onto the property ladder. I live in privately rented accommodation.
“I’d love to buy my own house, but it’s hard to save for a deposit. Unless you’re lucky enough to get some inheritance there is no chance for young people to get their own home. Otherwise we’re saving, saving and saving for a deposit but then something comes along or breaks and the money needs to be used.”
Muhammad Qaiser, 30, senior graphic designer, Harrow: Muhammad regularly uses trains to travel back home to Nottingham to visit family. But over the last few years the increase in train fares has now meant the couple have started travelling on the coach instead, often saving up to £80.
Muhammad, who lives with wife Yusriya Mukhtar, welcomed news of the rail fare freeze. He said: “The fares have just kept increasing over the last few years. In 2015, I’d pay £42 for a ticket from London to Nottingham with my railcard, now it’s £55. I’m now using the Two Together railcard, otherwise it’d be paying £166 for two off-peak train tickets to Nottingham.
“I’ve started to use the coach more often because it costs just £10-£20 for two coach tickets, whereas I’d be paying £100 for trains. The coach is clean, on time, you have Wi-Fi that works and we’re guaranteed seats. The amount we pay in rail fares isn’t worth it. I’m often standing for most of the journey when I get the train. The trains were just not feasible so a freeze in rail fares is great news for people like myself.
“If the rail fares were reasonable my wife and I would use trains more often. We planned a trip to Edinburgh but trains were coming up at £300 each whereas it’d be cheaper to fly. It would be great to see more support for young people like myself, who are struggling in this economic climate. Once we’ve paid the rent, council tax, bills, travel for work, we’re not left with much for any other necessity.”
Frances Russell, 40, café owner, Nottingham: After being driven to close one of her cafés by soaring costs, a business owner warns she is still in ‘recovery period’ after grappling with the costs from the Spring budget.
Frances Russell opened The White Rabbit in Nottingham City Centre 16 years ago and a second café in West Bridgford, Nottingham in 2018, which closed in May this year. While the city centre café remains open, rising overheads means some days the business doesn’t break even.
Today’s announcement with a rise in National Minimum Wage will now mean Frances will have to juggle the books yet again. The Spring budget has already meant soaring costs for the café because of changes to business rates relief, an increase in National insurance contributions and a national minimum wage rise.
Frances, 40, added: “Small businesses can’t absorb anymore. We’re still going through the recovery period, we need a bit of breathing space. While we were expecting the National Minimum Wage increase, many business owners were expecting it to come hand in hand with something, like business tax reductions. We have to find the money from somewhere in a short amount of time. While people deserve a pay rise, there wasn’t a single thing in the budget that gave a glimmer of hope to business owners.
“I just hope someone in this Government is listening, that has their ears to the ground. Are they actually taking on board the well-being of small businesses? I don’t feel there is any care. Isn’t it better to see businesses survive, employ people and grow? It all feels doom and gloom.”
It costs £400 a day in outgoings to run The White Rabbit, £100 more than it did last year, with things like increase in rent, building insurance, wages, energy bills and fresh produce. The business has also seen a rise in supplier costs, now leaving a very small budget for emergencies and repairs.
She adds: “I love my job, my customers and my business but like many business owners, we feel so squeezed. There is no plan B, I just want to keep this business going.”
Jan Osinski, 76, pensioner, Otley: Jan works one day a week for a supermarket chain and regularly visits hospital due to being on a waiting list to see a specialist for a hip replacement. He welcomes developments that waiting lists are down for the NHS but was concerned about the lack of detail of how more it will be funded.
Following Reeves’ announcement the old basic state pension would to £9,614.80 per year, signalling a £439.40 rise, Jan said: “It was very nice but it’s not enough.” I’m not too angry about it because it’s what I expected.
Jan said while there were some elements in the budget that were positive, he was concerned about a lack of provisions for people looking to buy their first home. “Our son is 40, nearly, and he still can’t afford to buy a house because he can’t raise the amount needed for a deposit,” he said.