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Yesterday, the finance minister, Rachel Reeves, delivered a Labour budget. The public have been asking for Labour’s purpose and principles to be more distinctly articulated. Through the decisions made – a transition to a fairer tax system, focusing on wealth to pay for addressing child poverty, good public services and the living expenses – we have clearly set out what we stand for.

This is why Labour MPs cheered in the Commons, and it’s why we are ready for the fights to come. And it’s why the cries from the right began immediately.

The Central Political Divide in British Politics

The primary dividing line in British politics is once again on the economy. On the one hand Labour, who want to change it so it benefits everyday working people, and on the opposite side, our political opponents, who support the status quo and the unsuccessful doctrine of the past. We must now take on, and win, the argument.

The Tories had 14 years to resolve things and instead, by any measure, they got much worse. Their doctrinaire austerity and supply-side economics – tax cuts for the wealthy, reducing investment (leaving us with low productivity and wages), and failing to support young people post-Covid – didn’t work.

Record of Failure Under the Previous Administration

Quality of life fell by the biggest amount since records began, child poverty hit record levels, NHS waiting lists in England were the highest on record, wages were stagnant, a housing crisis became entrenched, young people affected by Covid were abandoned. The record of failure continues.

A single budget alone can’t fix everything, so Labour has a long-term plan for renewal and for restructuring the country. And we have to go out and keep making the case for why our strategy will yield benefits.

Social Security and Youth Deprivation

Under the Tories, welfare spending rose substantially. As did child poverty, because they failed to tackle the underlying issues: low pay, high housing costs, deep inequalities in education, health and regions. The state is forced to paying more to deal with the symptoms instead of the cure.

It’s why we are building more social housing than for a generation, increasing wages and new rights for workers, massively boosting investment in infrastructure and new industries, getting waiting lists down and bringing down the costs of childcare and energy as we drive for clean power.

Ending the Two-Child Limit

This is also the reason we are absolutely right to use this budget to remove the two-child benefit cap.

For eight long years, since it was introduced, poorer families with children have suffered from a unjust social experiment that was branded as fair for working people when it was the opposite. Most of the families impacted by it have a parent in work.

It has only served to push 300,000 more children into poverty – which, in the end, costs us more, as well as being heartless and unethical.

Real Impact in Local Areas

From experience from my own constituency – where over 5,000 children will be raised out of poverty as a result of abolishing the cap – the real impact it’s had. Children wearing £1 wellies as school shoes, children going to bed without food and cold, living in cramped, damp homes, parents during the holidays relying on food banks for a modest meal or small gift for their kids.

I also see the impact on schools, teachers, social workers, doctors and charities who are already overburdened but have to redirect time and resources to supporting children who are living with the results of deep poverty.

Long-Term Consequences of Youth Hardship

Just one in four pupils from the most disadvantaged families achieve five good GCSEs, compared with almost 75% among wealthier families. This predisposes them for the challenges they face throughout their lives: unrealized potential, financial struggles and ill health. Children who grew up in poverty are more likely to be unemployed or poor as adults.

Addressing child poverty isn’t just a ethical duty, it is a long-term investment. Poverty costs the economy far, far more than the three billion pound cost of removing the two-child cap, or expanding free school meals.

This is the reason we acted urgently in the budget, despite the challenging economic context. Every day with this cap in place sees more than 100 extra children pushed into poverty. The effects of lifting it won’t happen overnight either, so acting early in the parliament was vital.

The cap was a symbol to 14 years of failed rightwing ideology. Now it is abolished.

Equitable Financing for Measures

We, as Labour, can also be clear that these initiatives are being paid for in a just way – from a new gambling levy, closing tax loopholes and a new “mansion tax”.

Final Thoughts

Fairness and purpose – that’s how we will win the battle of ideas. This budget is a clear statement that we gained the election as Labour, and will lead as Labour. As I consistently said during my campaign to become deputy leader, we must reclaim the political megaphone and define the narrative more forcefully about what’s really wrong with the country and how we are fixing it. We’ve certainly done that this week.

So let’s keep hold of it and prevail in this struggle about how we will renew Britain and address the deep inequalities holding us back.