‘They want a Trump wall between the north and south!’ Labour’s Budget leaves County Durham residents feeling cheated

A key measure is the increase in employers' national insurance contributions, set to rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15 per cent from April 2025. This change is expected to generate £25billion annually for the government.

While Reeves promised that working people would not see higher taxes in their payslips, concerns have been raised about the potential effects on small businesses and job security.

Speaking to GB News, one resident of Durham named Lyn said: "It's the small local businesses I feel sorry for, like the little cafes and things like that.

"Their budgets are not fantastic and now they're going to be hit with more tax. I am worried people will lose their jobs."

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Emily asked: "What's something that's been coming up quite a lot. Is this North-South divide really in terms of that spending is being put into transport and things down south that perhaps you want a bit of that cherry up here."

Discussing the North-South divide, another resident named Steven said: "They've just announced that they're gonna get HS2 into Euston that we couldn't even get it up to Newcastle.

"You know what I mean? They just want to keep us locked up in the North."

Lynn added: "I think what they'll do if they could get away with it is just build something like a Berlin Wall between us and the south, a Trump wall."

Chancellor Reeves acknowledged the difficulty of this decision, stating: "We are asking businesses to contribute more.

"I know that there will be impacts of this measure felt beyond businesses, too as the OBR have set out today."

The Government justifies this measure as necessary to fund public services and restore economic stability.

The Budget also introduces changes to inheritance tax and pensions, causing concern among retirees.

From April 2027, pension pots will be brought within inheritance tax, and reforms to agricultural and business property reliefs are expected to raise £2billion annually.

The Chancellor announced that inheritance tax thresholds will remain frozen until 2030, extending the previous government's policy by two years.

This means the first £325,000 of any estate can be inherited tax-free, rising to £500,000 if the estate includes a residence passed to direct descendants.