At the end of last month, our new Chancellor unveiled plans to 'fix' fourteen years of Tory austerity, high taxation and low investment. So, what does this mean for Reading and its residents ?

Overall, Labour’s Rachel Reeves’s proposals are going to see an even higher taxation burden, and lots more borrowing. Despite inflation coming down, this could result in interest rates remaining high, with mortgages affected. However, this is likely to have less effect in Reading where under 20% of the population have mortgages (60% of local residents rent).

Reading is, by and large, a prosperous area with a thriving economy, but it does not boast many very wealthy people within its environs, who were more directly targeted with inheritance taxes on their global assets, but there may be other areas of the Thames Valley where mega mansions are going up for sale.

The reality is that Reading is a very well off area with pockets of poverty, often based on the core problem that the UK on is facing, poor health, so the town may actually benefit economically, but there are some concerns.

Higher taxations on employment with employers' NI rising to 15% makes it more expensive to employ people at a time when tech companies are deploying AI and laying off ever more staff, so it is likely that finding some well paid jobs in the tech and services sector locally may be more difficult.

The increase in the minimum wage may have a positive impact for those in our town working for this base payment. The National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 21 and over will rise by 6.7%, from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour, for those aged 18-20 will increase from £8.60 to £10.00 per hour and for younger workers aged 16-17, as well as apprentices, will go up from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour. But this may be to the detriment of our already struggling hospitality sector, where this and the NI increase will have a significant impact on costs for this labour intensive sector. Will more pubs and restaurants shut ?

A significant number of younger people in Reading will benefit, but it remains to be seen if this will filter down to the 'gig economy' which is a significant part of our working town, but remains badly under-regulated.

For wealthier residents with significant pension pots, it may be time for them to splash out on world cruises because pension pots will now be taxed over existing allowance limits, reducing what they can pass on to their younger generation.

An extension in social housing provision may also benefit those with limited means looking for their own home, but the trickle down effect of this in the past has been poor, with social housing quotas in the town being ignored time and again in development after development.

But the increased investment in health, education and construction are good news for people working in those sectors, especially since Reading has extensive new developments slated and a major hospital. However, the problem with this is that we are not training enough health workers, tradespeople nor teachers and our local educational establishments seem disjointed from local needs. 

But perhaps the most telling aspect of the budget is how unaligned Labour has already become at a local level against national level, now that they control both our town and the UK overall.

Local government wants less development, central government wants more, for example. There is little doubt that Reading will see more development, not less. The only hope is that more of it meets the needs of the local population instead of being speculative developments for investment. It is interesting to note that there were no further 'anti-landlord' measures which has reportedly resulted in a large scale sell-off of homes by local private landlords.

But nowhere is the disjoint between local and national Labour more apparent than with transport.

Central government are subsidising petrol and diesel vehicles with petrol duty freezes whilst increasing costs on bus and train travel significantly. And despite banning ICE vehicles after 2030, they are doing nothing to support the transitions to EVs. 

The recent Reading Transport Plan 2036 clearly indicated that the council want to force residents from cars and onto buses and bicycles. The budget incentivised the direct opposite.

It is difficult to reach any immediate conclusions about how Reading will be affected by this Budget, which some leading commentators have called 'once in a generation'. The reality is that very little will probably change for the majority of people in our area.