Chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget shows the UK economy is not prepared for a Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn claimed on Wednesday (8 March). The Labour leader issued the warning immediately after Hammond unveiled his economic statement to the House of Commons.

"The Chancellor boasts of a strong economy, but abandoned the targets of the previous Chancellor so let's give a more realistic context to today's figures: the deficit that was going to be eradicated in 2015 – you'll remember the 'long term economic plan'. The debt that was going to peak at 80% of GDP and then start falling," he said.

"Our economy is not prepared for Brexit. We still have an economy suffering from under-investment and an over-reliance on consumer spending and wholly unsustainable levels of personal and household debt."

Corbyn added: "Yesterday over 3,000 people in this country will have queued at food banks to feed themselves and their families.

"Last night over 4,000 people will have slept rough on the streets of this country. And the Chancellor made his boasts about a strong economy, but who is reaping the rewards of this economy?"

The comments come after Hammond promised £320m ($388m) of additional funding further an extra 110 free schools, which will be able to provide selective education as part of Theresa May's grammar schools "revolution".

The Chancellor also committed £2bn of additional social care grants to councils across England for the next three years. But Hammond controversially unveiled a hike in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for the self-employed.

The Chancellor said class two NICs would be scrapped on April 2018 and class four NICs (the main rate) will increase by 9% to 10%, with an additional 1% on April 2019. The move broke the Conservative Party's 2015 general election manifestation pledge not to rise income, VAT or national insurance tax.

"Targeting the self-employed by hitting white van man with a tax hike betrays Theresa May's pledge to help the just about managing," said Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron," he said.

"If that were not bad enough, many public sector workers suffering a pay cap will be almost £3,000 a year worse off by 2020 – another painful example of the Brexit squeeze, caused by the Conservative Brexit government."

Jeremy Corbyn's full Budget response


Entirely out of touch with that reality of life for millions

This morning over one million workers will have woken up not knowing whether they'll work today, tomorrow or next week.






For millions it is simply not working.


Not working for our children's schools, where pupil funding continues to be cut.

Not working for our neighbourhoods which have lost 20,000 police officers, leaving the force in a "perilous state" in many parts of the country.




Not working for thousands of young people who can't get anywhere to live, can't get on the housing ladder and cannot in many cases leave the parental home.







The big corporations making higher profits and being taxed less.




The pain of losing a child is unimaginable for most of us, but for those who do, that pain is worsened by the stress of having to pay for their own child's funeral. I pay tribute to my friend the member for Swansea East for her campaign to establish a Children's Funeral Fund.



The Prime Minister came to office talking about "fighting burning injustices". Less than nine months later, she seems to have forgotten all about them because none of them are being fought today.

Low pay holds people back and it's holding our country back.


Inflation rising, an urgent need to address the pressures on people's incomes; massively rising personal debts, rising energy bills and the cost of the weekly shop, transport costs and housing costs all rising.




There is a crisis too Mr Deputy Speaker in job security. Millions of workers don't know whether or not they'll be working from day to day, millions of workers who don't know how many hours they'll be working this week or next week, just imagine what it's like to try and plan your life if you don't know what your income is going to be from one week to the other. Because Mr Deputy Speaker that is the reality







There are a million working households having to claim housing benefit, just get that figure a million working households claiming housing benefit because their wages aren't enough to pay the rent. And there are 3 million working families who simply rely on tax credits to make ends meet. This is modern Britain.



Mr Deputy Speaker, on International Women's Day did the Chancellor deliver a budget that works for women?


Women's lives have been made more difficult through successive policies of this Government.

- Women struggling with more caring responsibilities due to the state of emergency in social care.


- 54,000 women a year who are forced out of their jobs through maternity discrimination . They can't afford this Government's extortionate fees to take their employer to a tribunal in search of justice.


- The hundreds, hundreds of women being turned away from domestic violence shelters every year through lack of space or appropriate services or because they've simply been closed











Last week the Institute for Government said there were "clear warning signs" of the damaging impact of the Government's cuts on schools, prisons, health and social care.


The Budget didn't provide the funding necessary now for the crisis in our NHS – which the BMA reckons needs an extra £10 billion.

It didn't provide the funding necessary to end the state of emergency in social care now which needs £2 billion a year just to plug the gaps according to the King's Fund.

That is not met by £2 billion over three years. The money is needed now. More than a million people, mainly older people, desperate for social care still can't get it. The money ought to be made available now.



And other council services are suffering as well:


700 Sure Start centres closed because of lack of funding for local authorities. Denying the life chances that a Labour government delivered to them with the opening of Sure Start centres in the 90's. And 600 youth centres have closed as well.

These painful decisions being taken by councils not because they want to do it, but just because they don't have enough money even to keep essential services running because of the slashing of their budgets, year on year. And it goes on, it affects our communities and our lives in so many ways.

Last year councils proposed to sell-off of school playing fields the equivalent of 500 football pitches. 500 pitches not available for young people to indulge in sport. It's our duty as a community surely, to ensure all our young people wherever they live have a decent chance to grow up with a library, with a playing field, with a Sure Start centre. It's not a lot to ask.

The Chancellor boasts Mr Deputy Speaker of a strong economy. but abandoned the targets of the previous Chancellor so let's give a more realistic context to today's figures: the deficit that was going to be eradicated in 2015 – you'll remember the "long term economic plan". The debt that was going to peak at 80% of GDP and then start falling.



And so that's why Labour is backing a 'fair funding formula for investment' so that every area gets it's fair share of capital spending. What's been announced today doesn't achieve that. You can't build a 'Northern powerhouse' or a 'Midlands Engine' if investment does not follow the sound-bites.


In the immediate term, and the Chancellor didn't have much to say about this, he must also focus his attentions on the precarious future of skilled workers jobs at Vauxhall in Ellesmere Port and Luton Ellesmere and at Ford in Bridgend.


One of the biggest challenges facing our country Mr Deputy Speaker, is environmental; it's climate change. This Government is failing to lead, failing to drive a mission-led industrial strategy as our own Business Select Committee has recommended.

The Chancellor failed to make energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority. No commitment to establishing a zero carbon standards on new buildings. And unclear about investments in public transport that will definitely reduce pollution. The poor air quality is appalling. It's killing thousands of people in this country. Its taking away the life chances of many children growing up alongside polluted roads. The good work being done by Labour's London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the good work being done by the Welsh Labour Government has rightly recognised this as an 'urgent public health crisis', particularly for children. We have to deal with this crises and deal with it urgently.

There cannot be Mr Deputy Speaker, an industrial strategy or productivity gains unless there's serious investment in skills.




This is a Budget that lacks ambition for Britain and lacks fairness..


When she took office, the Prime Minister said "If you're one of those families, if you're just managing, I want to address you directly".

This Budget did not address them; it failed them.


It's built on unfairness and it's built on failure to tackle unfairness in our society.