Big fiscal events, like the Budget and the Autumn Statement, can often feel very grand and abstract. Amid the numerous big announcements that the Chancellor makes from the despatch box - and in amongst hundreds of new measures, regulations, and spending adjustments found in the fine-print -, it's easy to lose sight of which changes will actually have an impact on the day-to-day lives of people in places like Hitchin and Harpenden.
Yet if you're looking for an example of the impact that fiscal events can have on ordinary working people, look no further than the Government's cuts to National Insurance, which were announced at the Budget earlier this year, and which came into effect last week. Combined with the two percent cut announced at the previous Autumn Statement, working-age people will pay an average of £900 less in the coming financial year; for a family with two working parents, that's £1,800. This is real money, which will help families to shoulder the cost of living, save for the future, and invest in their priorities. It's right that this support is targeted at working-age people, reflecting the Chancellor's commitment to making work pay.
It's not just National Insurance cuts, though. Thanks to this Government's ongoing commitment to the Pension Triple Lock, pensioners have seen their state pension increase by 8.5%, meaning that each individual pensioner will be £900 better off. This comes on top of last year's 10.1% increase; since 2010, pensioners are £1,000 a year better off than if the state pension had gone up in line with earnings alone. However, we're not just interested in delivering a state pension that works now; we want to create a sustainable system that works to deliver generous state support for pensioners in the years to come. Through our reforms to pension fund regulations, we're making it easier than ever for UK pension funds to invest in high-return investments, meaning that the state pension system will have greater resources to draw on in the years to come. In turn, this will mean that we don't have to fund future increases to the state pension through taxation and borrowing. Conservatives know the value of sensible, long-term investments, whether that's equipping the state pension for the future, investing in NHS digitalisation, or putting more money into the major transport infrastructure projects that will help our economy to grow in the years to come.
Our commitment to putting real money into the pockets of the public is one of the things that makes me proud to be a Conservative. We understand that people know how to spend their own money better than the Government does, and so we should welcome last week's steps towards giving individuals and families more spending power. That's one of the real-terms benefits of living under a Conservative Government.
