Families in Enfield North face a triple hammer blow to their finances unless Chancellor changes course at the Budget

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to hit families in Enfield North with a triple blow of council tax hikes, frozen pay and cuts to social security at his Budget this week.  With Britain in the grip of the worst economic crisis of any major economy, Feryal Clark, MP for Enfield North, is urging the Chancellor to change course to protect family finances and get Britain on the road to recovery.

The Chancellor’s plan to slash Universal Credit by £20 a week from April means 13,929 people in Enfield North will take a £1040 a year hit to their finances.  Sunak also wants families to pay for gaps in council budgets through council tax hikes rather than fulfilling his pledge to back them.  This could amount to £100 extra on annual council tax bills for the average Band D home in Enfield.

The Chancellor is also hitting 10,600 key workers earning over £18,000 in Enfield North with a real term pay cut this year, affecting the teachers, police officers and Armed Forces personnel on the front line of the pandemic.  Feryal Clark has condemned this triple hammer blow to people’s pockets as totally irresponsible when the economy is so fragile, and is calling on the government to scrap its plans.

Feryal Clark, MP for Enfield North, said:

“As our country suffers from the worst economic crisis of any major economy, the Government should be supporting families to get them on the road back to recovery.  Yet the Chancellor is planning to implement a triple hammer blow of cuts to Universal Credit, council tax hikes and pay freezes. The hard-working people of Enfield North do not deserve this after such a difficult year.

“This week’s budget is a pivotal moment for Britain to create a secure and prosperous economy for the future, but the Chancellor’s plans are economically illiterate and threaten to risk damaging Britain’s recovery before it has even begun.

“Families and businesses in Enfield North need certainty. The Chancellor must reconsider his plans and focus on protecting and creating jobs, secure the recovery as we emerge from this crisis, and lay the foundations so we can rebuild a better, more secure economy.”