Budget should deliver help to Southport’s small businesses and focus on our town’s access to healthcare says Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson

Posted on: 04/03/2024 11:57

On Wednesday, the Chancellor will deliver the Conservative Government’s last Budget before this year’s General Election.

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson, Erin Harvey, wants there to be a focus on issues that can help boost Southport’s economy and better protect the welfare of its residents.

Erin said: “We all know that the NHS waiting lists have spiralled out of control and the Budget needs to address this urgently. However, after speaking to a lot of residents in Southport it's clear that in many cases it is simply impossible to register with a local NHS dentist let alone get an appointment. It isn’t just more funding that’s required to help solve this, it’s reform of the way NHS dental contracts work which is hampering the ability of dentists to take on more patients. As a party it would also be our policy to launch an emergency scheme to ensure children, pregnant women and young mothers have access to their free check ups on time.

“Businesses in our town need much greater support to weather the cost of living crisis. Business rate relief and more support for energy costs as volatility in the market continues could provide a real lifeline to businesses in our town. Investment in our infrastructure is also needed to attract more skills to our town and make Southport a more attractive place to live and work. Improving connectivity across our region would truly unlock our regional economy and the HS2 fiasco is yet another example of the London centric nature of the Conservative government where ‘Northern Powerhouse’ sloganeering isn’t backed up by real targeted investment and action.

“As a seaside town we also have a lot of natural resources that make us a fantastic place to potentially be an important part of the new green economy in the years ahead. Time is ticking on the 2050 net zero pledge and now is the time for the government to be investing to accelerate renewable power and to re-orientate our economy.

“Let’s hope that the last Budget of this government focuses on the priorities of real people in towns like ours. We don’t need the smoke and mirrors of tax cuts and apparent giveaways that don’t actually make that much difference to day to day life or tackle the systemic economic and social issues that need addressing.”