Ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, Northumberland Labour is today calling on the Chancellor to reverse plans to abolish the Household Support Fund.

The Fund is designed to help families hit by the cost of living crisis. Over the last year, local households struggling to make ends meet received support worth £4.96M, but now ministers seem determined to axe the fund, further deepening the cost of living crisis for households across Northumberland. 

The budget comes with the UK economy in recession, shattering Rishi Sunak’s promise to deliver growth over the last year.

Northumberland Labour’s Lynne Grimshaw said,

“People in Northumberland are already struggling with a Conservative cost of living crisis and Rishi’s Recession. It is astonishing that the Tories are planning to make things even worse by removing one of the last lines of support for families who need it.

“The Household Support Fund helps local families cover the basics – food and energy – to kick that away now isn’t just incompetence, it’s cruelty. At this week’s budget the Chancellor must think again.

“But the truth is the Conservatives can’t solve Northumberland’s problems – they are the problem. Labour has a plan to get Britain’s future back. We need a general election now so we can get on and deliver it.”