Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking ahead of the Autumn Statement, said:

“David Cameron and George Osborne have now failed every test and broken every promise they made on the economy.

“They promised living standards would rise, but while millionaires have got a huge tax cut working people are £1600 a year worse off under the Tories. This cost-of-living crisis is why the Chancellor will have to admit he has broken his promise to balance the books by next year.

“A Labour Autumn Statement would set out a better and fairer plan to deliver a recovery that works for the many and not just a few.

“Labour’s economic plan will raise the minimum wage, expand free childcare for working parents, get more homes built and cut business rates for small firms.

“We will balance the books in a fairer way, starting by reversing the £3 billion a year tax cut for the top one per cent of earners.

“And we will save and transform our National Health Service with a fully-funded long-term plan. We will raise an extra £2.5 billion a year to deliver 20,000 more nurses and 8,000 more GPs – a commitment the Tories refuse to match.”

Ends