Rachel Reeves must not bring back austerity at next week's spring statement, a rising star red wall Labour MP has warned, urging the Chancellor not to ignore the plight of seaside towns.
Labour MPs are worried about the scale of cuts next week when the Chancellor presents her spring statement including new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked if he had a message for Reeves, Chris Webb, Labour MP for Blackpool South, told Chopper's Political Podcast: "We've made a promise not to go back to austerity, so I'm hoping that isn't the case.
"We can't go back to austerity. Blackpool and places like mine, coastal communities, they've been forgotten about."
Chris Webb, Labour MP for Blackpool South, warned Rachel Reeves not to reimpose austerity
GB NEWS
He pointed out how ministers had focused resources and investment in the south of England or on improving cities like Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
Transport spending was also overly focused in the south of England, he said, pointing to the unreliable service between London and Blackpool.
He said: "I've been keeping track of this. I have not got a train from Blackpool to London this year that hasn't been delayed or cancelled down to running back.
"It's got to the point now where I am considering getting a new car and driving to Westminster every week.
Chris Webb said he backed an idea from the Patriotic Millionaires campaign group for a wealth tax of 2 per cent on assets worth more than £10million
GB NEWS
"I will get an electric car, a hybrid, because that is the right way to go forward. Also it's cheaper in the long run if you're doing the miles that I'm going to be doing.
"But it would some of the times it's quicker. How is that right for areas like mine?"
Webb said he backed an idea from the Patriotic Millionaires campaign group for a wealth tax of 2 per cent on assets worth more than £10million, saying it would only affect 0.04 per cent of Britons.
Webb also warned that of a large scale rebellion over the Government's £5billion-worth of cuts in the welfare budget this week.
Asked about the scale of Labour MPs' concern about cuts to Personal Independence Payments, Webb said that "a considerable" number were worried.
These numbers could grow when the Government publishes an impact assessment on the cuts at the spring statement next week.
Webb said: "I'm not going to start naming colleagues or numbers from the discussions that I've been having. People are waiting for the figures next week. They are having that robust debate, which is right.
"We have a broad church in the Labour Party. Many of us are here to serve our constituents and want to do that. So for me it's about that engagement. And we'll see more next week. But I feel that I can have this discussion in my party. I can have this debate."
Listen to Chopper's Political Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch the interviews on GB News' YouTube channel
