“A budget for cities, not rural communities” – Sarah Gibson MP

Today in the House of Commons, the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered the Government’s first Budget. The Liberal Democrat MP for Chippenham, Sarah Gibson, intervened during the debate on the Budget to say the following to the Chancellor:

“Would the Chancellor remember working people also live in rural areas. I was very disappointed in the Chancellor’s speech that the word rural was only mentioned twice in an hour and that was an aside. 

“Access to public transport, access to primary care – these are absolute vital for working people in rural areas.”

After leaving the House of Commons Chamber, Sarah Gibson MP made the following comments about the Budget: 

“The financial plan set out today by the Government was a budget for cities, not rural communities like those I represent across the constituency of Chippenham. The Chancellor spent almost all her time in the House of Commons talking about investment in major cities, but next to nothing about what financial support will be given to rural communities across Wiltshire.

“According to Government figures, over 21% of people in England live in a rural area. And yet during the Chancellor’s statement, the word ‘rural’ was used only twice. Commitment after commitment flowed through for the industrial north, but not a word was said about the South West except with some throw away reference to Cornwall that had no relation to an investment pledge.

On Health and Social Care spending, Sarah Gibson MP said:

“I have consistently campaigned for more investment in our local health services so I am glad the Chancellor has finally listened. I will now be holding the government’s feet to the fire on the promises they’ve made, so people across the Chippenham constituency can finally see a GP or dentist when they need to.

“What I need to do now is seriously investigate the detail to make sure that dentists, pharmacies, and GP surgeries in rural areas are the first to benefit from the Chancellors financial pledges, because frankly it is clear that her priority is investing in secondary care but not primary care services.

On changes to Agricultural Property Relief, Sarah Gibson MP said:

“After years of the Conservatives taking rural communities for granted, it is deeply disappointing to see more of the same from this new government. I am very worried about the impact of the changes in the Budget on rural areas like ours, including the changes to Agricultural Property Relief which effectively amount to a family farm tax. These changes could be disastrous for local farmers and small businesses.

“In the coming days, I will be scrutinising these changes in Parliament and fighting tooth and nail to make sure that no family farm receives a hammer blow through these changes. At the last election, Liberal Democrats backed British farmers by demanding an extra £1bn to support them. I will keep being a strong voice for our rural communities.”

On Transport spending, Sarah Gibson MP said:

“The Chancellor confirmed the bus fare cap will increase from £2 to £3, and that there was no guarantee for a cap to be in place at all after December 2025. This is quite simply a bus tax on rural communities. 

“Wiltshire needs more bus routes and improved bus services if it is to deliver the Chancellor’s plan for growth. Without a vastly improved bus service, people cannot get to work, drop their children off at school, or make their GP appointments on time.

“I hoped the Chancellor might outline what she was going to do to improve bus services, but all we heard today was about grand railway schemes connecting major cities. We had no commitment on improving bus services and no commitment on a station in Corsham or Royal Wootton Bassett. I am now writing to the Treasury for clarity.”

On the Winter Fuel Allowance, Sarah Gibson MP said:

“It is incredibly disappointing to see this new government push ahead with cuts to the winter fuel allowance which will badly impact some of the most vulnerable pensioners in our community. This is a bitter blow for the thousands of pensioners across my constituency who will now be left choosing between heating and eating this winter. I will continue to fight tooth and nail against these cuts that will harm people already struggling with the cost of living crisis.” 

On SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability), Sarah Gibson MP said:

“Far too many children in our community are waiting more than the twenty-week limit for an education, health and care plan. We need to see far greater urgency from the government when it comes to tackling this crisis, because children and parents cannot wait any longer.”