IN this week’s column, Labour Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols highlights Brexit.

I am sure that Warrington Guardian readers would like to read a column of positive news of successes in our town or good news from Westminster.

Unfortunately, the government’s chaos has meant that once again I have to set out the consequences of the latest Tory budget.

Last week the fourth Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer of 2022 announced his plans to undo the damage caused by the previous Chancellor, just two months ago.

However his plans will cause huge pain for working people who didn’t cause this crisis, without delivering the growth that we need to get our economy back on track.

We are now facing the highest taxes since the Second World War, whilst also suffering further savage cuts to our public services that have not yet recovered from a decade of austerity followed by covid. I am truly frightened about what impact this will have on the people of this country as real household disposable income will fall by 7% over the next two years, the biggest drop on record.

Despite this misery, there was no roadmap for the better future that we need, as our growth will still be the lowest of the major economies over the next couple of years as we probably go into recession.

I don’t want to be unceasingly negative, and I know that people reasonably ask what is the Labour alternative, so here is what we propose instead:

Money could be raised by not giving banks a tax cut; closing the fossil fuel investment allowance in the windfall tax on energy producers, which has let big companies like Shell off the hook; scrapping non-dom status; closing the unfair private equity loophole; and ending the VAT exemption for private schools.

To actually restore growth to our economy we need an active plan.

Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan proposes a modern industrial strategy to support modern and future green industries like nuclear with good, skilled, high-paying jobs. We want more support for entrepreneurs to start businesses and business rate reform to support existing ones. We must fix the holes in the Brexit deal so our businesses can export more abroad.

And we must help people fulfil their potential by seriously improving our childcare and infrastructure. Investing in people is what drives growth, not pushing them into hopeless poverty. As we face difficult times ahead, do not think that they are inevitable. The announcements in the Budget were a choice, and there are better alternatives. I will continue to press for fairer and more sustainable policies to bring us back to the growth that we need.