I took some time out this afternoon to watch Rachel Reeves deliver her first budget, and as well as the sheer joy of seeing a Labour budget presented by our first Labour Chancellor, there was a lot to welcome.
I was really pleased to see compensation for those who have been waiting years for justice over the scandals around contaminated blood products and the Post Office Horizon computing system, along with funding to enable the removal of the sort of unsafe building cladding that led to the horror of Grenfell.
And we finally have a Covid Corruption Commission, and we may finally find out just how so much public money was wasted on failed health measures and unsuitable protective equipment.
Those were the first four points I noted down as I listened carefully to Rachel Reeves for over an hour, running through numbers, percentages, figures. She talked about promises and listed the commitments to deliver.
When it comes to local issues, I was really pleased to see increased support for housing in Cambridgeshire and funding for the next stage consultation on the proposed East West Rail, a project that I believe is vital for the our future.
There is also £10m for the Cambridge Growth Company to form an ambitious plan for housing, transport, water and wider infrastructure. Its an organisation I look forward to working with to ensure that local needs are represented and local concerns are listened to. Cambridge may be ‘a globally renowned centre of excellence [with an] important role within the Industrial Strategy’ (to quote the Red Book) but it’s also our home, and we need to ensure it is great place to live.
I’ve lived here for nearly forty years. My daughters were born in our wonderful city, grew up and went to school here. After some years study and working elsewhere they are back living nearby. I want our city to work for them and their friends.
Finally, optimistic though I am about Labour’s plans in government, as we push forward we must remain aware of the threats from the climate crisis and biodiversity disaster, and take note of the terrible events in Valencia and elsewhere. We can’t forget the global context, and we must do all we can. I want work with the government to ensure our future residents thrive in this amazing place, and that we make our contribution to moving forward in a sustainable way.