Peter Cripps voted Labor in the last general election because he was desperate to get rid of the Conservatives. But he would not vote for the party again, not least after the Chancellor’s make-or-break Budget on Wednesday.
As he stood outside his shop, Car, Home and Garden in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the 76-year-old said The Independent: “I have lived on the island for 50 years, this is the worst I have ever known, and this Budget will not change that.”
In her fiscal statement on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves unveiled £26 billion worth of tax rises in an attempt to plug gaps in the public finances. The Chancellor’s tax rises will be delivered by freezing thresholds, dragging millions more to pay higher taxes, and a host of other measures, including a new “mansion tax” on properties worth more than £2 million and a new levy on landlords.
She also announced that the government would remove the two-child benefit limit and raise the minimum wage in an attempt to ease the pressures of the cost of living crisis.
Labor will need the Budget to go down well with swing voters in places like Sheerness if the party is to turn the polls around and stand a chance of retaining power at the next general election.
Peter Cripps outside his shop on the Isle of Sheppey (The Independent)
The port city constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey was a Labor gain at the last election, with Kevin McKenna beating Conservative candidate Aisha Cuthbert by a margin of 355 votes, with Reform UK a close third.
Mr Cripps wanted a change because he felt his town’s high street had declined, and he hoped Labor would address this. But now, he feels that the government does not trust him to grow the economy.
He explained: “They (Labour), and they made it even worse. I will definitely not vote for them again.”
Asked why, he said: “I think this country is in such a mess. We need jobs, we need manufacturing. On this island we used to have a steel factory – gone, a toilet factory – gone, we had docks. Everything is gone. We don’t have manufacturing. As long as we have jobs, they won’t change.”
Although Mr Cripps liked some of the Budget’s measures – he is pleased that Mrs Reeves has decided to scrap the two-child benefit cap – he is concerned about an increase in the minimum wage. He said it is something a business like his cannot afford to pay.
Stanley Ward inside his shop, Kent Fresh Food (The Independent)
Equally unimpressed by the Budget was Stanley Ward, 68, who runs the butcher’s shop, Kent Fresh Food, and is also a landlord with three residential properties.
“I’m worried about the landlord tax because they’re going to take the money,” he said The Independent. “You don’t want to keep paying the rent because it’s not fair on the tenant.
“I have good tenants, and I don’t want to upset them by raising the rent. But I think it could go backwards, I think many landlords will sell because it’s ridiculous what they keep doing to us.”
‘As a business owner, everything just added up’
Like Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Ilford North is one of Labour’s smallest marginal seats – the constituency has swung between Labor and the Conservatives since it was founded in 1945.
Wes Streeting has been its MP since 2015, but the health secretary survived a scare to retain his seat in last year’s general election as he defeated independent candidate Leanne Mohamad by just 528 votes.
But one vote Mr Streeting cannot count on is Stephen Laycock, 64, who owns the Hi-Tide chip shop on the High Street in Barkingside, and describes the Budget as “terrible”.
He said The Independent: “I voted Conservative in the last election. I never voted Labor and I never will. I don’t think they are helping the people they should be helping.”
He used his own business as an example, saying: “I wouldn’t class myself as high-end business-wise. We’re just a family business; we’ve been here 54 years, and we certainly won’t be here for another 54.
Stephen Laycock said he would never vote for Labor (The Independent)
“It’s not just the Budget, although I think it was disgusting, I feel that everything is tax, tax, tax.”
Like Mr Cripps, Mr Laycock is concerned about how he will cover an increase in the minimum wage, which Ms Reeves introduced so that “low earners are properly rewarded for their hard work”.
He said: “I’m not getting the pass, nobody’s got any money. National Insurance went up last time. As a business owner, everything just went up.
“We used to pay £74 for a box of cod, now it’s £400. How can I make money on this? Without tax relief, there will be nothing. Potatoes should be £7 a bag but they’re getting £24. You can’t absorb that.”
About 20 miles away, in the London constituency of Kensington and Bayswater, Ms Reeves’ mansion tax was a cause for concern. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a quarter of the properties affected by the tax are in just three London council boroughs; Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, and Camden.
Kensington and Bayswater is another parliamentary seat with a slim majority – the new constituency was won by Labour’s Joe Powell in 2024. Kensington resident Caroline was concerned about the tax, citing it as an example of Labour’s approach to the wealthy.
She said The Independent: “Thank God my property is not even worth half of £2m. They have already fled so many of the non-doms and well, everyone who is rich, that I am not so sure it is wise to tax the rich even more. They will just disappear.
“It’s the old-fashioned Labor thing, just spend, spend, spend and tax.”
According to Kensington local Helen, the tax threshold is too low. She said: “£2m doesn’t buy you much here. I’ve lived here for 40 years, and prices have gone up, but me, why should I move from my house? Because I can’t afford wealth tax.
“I think let’s get people back to work. Our young people are leaving in droves because there is no future for hard working professionals.”
Richard and Jean Whitehead believe the Labor government should be given time to turn the tide (The Independent)
More cheerful about the Budget were Richard and Jean Whitehead in Ilford North. Both retirees are Labor voters and believe Sir Keir Starmer’s government needs to be given more time to turn the nation’s fortunes around.
Jean said: “I think this Budget will put some money in people’s pockets. The two child benefit limit that comes out is really important to some. and the increase in the minimum wage will benefit a lot of people.
“But on the other hand, say for hospitality, if they have to pay that increased minimum wage, they might not hire that person because they can’t afford it.”
Richard is concerned about the impact of the tax caps being frozen and the resulting fiscal drag, but he is willing to wait and see how the policies outlined in the Budget will play out,
He said: “They can’t turn the tide in a year and a bit. It will take at least two terms for the tide to start turning. First of all it will be difficult and I don’t think anyone thought it wouldn’t be.”
Sir Keir said on Thursday that the Budget “asked everyone to contribute” in order to protect public services and help people who are struggling with the cost of living.
Regarding the tax burden, the Prime Minister claimed that his government “did the least possible” to have an impact on the people and had “done it in a fair way”.
The Independent I have approached the Treasury for comment.