Kwasi’s budget will give us more – but cash will be swallowed by energy bills – Sun readers react to the mini budget
IT was billed as the biggest tax-cutting Budget in half a century to super-charge Britain’s economy.
But how will Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s £45billion a year giveaway affect Sun families?
Throughout the cost-of-living crisis we have been speaking to a panel of Sun readers to find out how they are coping.
Here they give their verdicts on yesterday’s historic mini Budget.
The NHS worker
MEGAN DANCER, 28, earns £22,000 and her partner Dan, 32, is on £24,000 as a machine operator in the steel industry.
They have a £188,000 mortgage on their home in Bournemouth, with gas and electric costing £1,620 a year.
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With the 1p tax cut and National Insurance changes they are £617 a year better off.
NHS worker Megan says: “That is more than I was expecting — £50 per month is great.
“But we’ve had an email from our energy provider to say our new energy tariff is £48 extra a month so we’ll have around £2 to play with. And we’re not even in winter yet.
“The Budget is not going to help the people that need it most. It helps those with lots of money.
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“They say they want us to put this extra money into the economy, like going out for a meal, but it’s just going to go on our heating bills.
“Our fixed-rate mortgage ends in September next year when the repayments will be so much bigger.”
The security worker
DAD Muhammad Afzal is £589 better off thanks to the scrapping of the National Insurance rise and 1p off basic-rate tax.
Muhammad, 41, who earns £45,000 a year, lives with wife Aneela and their 11-year-old daughter Izzah in Ilford, East London.
They pay £1,200 a year on gas and electricity but the £400 energy bill rebate, which begins next month, should cover any price rises.
Muhammad says: “The Budget was positive and bold. I will have £50 per month more in my pocket, so it’s good.
“It’s always the case that the rich do the best from any tax cut because they pay the most tax.
“In the future, I would like to see more targeted help for people on lower incomes.
“But with the cuts in energy bills, overall they have done well.”
Security worker Muhammad has a £300,000 fixed mortgage which is due to be renewed next year.
He says: “It looks like my mortgage is going to go up by as much as £300 a month — it’s a big worry.”
The college support worker
GRANDAD Michael Thorpe, 62, is on a zero-hours contract at a college and earns £13,000 a year.
He also gets around £3,000 in Universal Credit.
He pays £920 a year on electric and will pay an extra £300 under the energy guarantee.
But that rise should be offset by the rebate of £400.
Tax and NI changes mean he will be just £11.90 a year better off.
Michael, from Southend, Essex, says: “That’s not really going to help towards my electricity bill. Liz Truss is Maggie Thatcher in disguise.
“I’m definitely worried about energy costs. I’m going to heat one room and stay in there.
“I know a lot of people doing the same thing.”
Under new rules, people will have to work at least 15 hours per week to claim Universal Credit.
Michael said: “Outside of school term time, I won’t be able to work 15 hours per week.
“I’m off for eight weeks during the summer. That’s two months where I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay my rent.”
The hairstylist
REBECCA SUTER, 45, from Loughborough, Leics, works from home as a hair stylist and earns £21,320 a year. Her annual electric bill is £1,980.
“The price cap is good, but the bill is still far too much,” she says.
“I can’t keep putting my prices up because my clients will stop coming. It’s really hard to know what to do for the best.”
She will be £342 a year better off thanks to National Insurance and tax changes in the mini Budget.
Rebecca says: “I’ll have £27 a month more to spend. That’s quite good. It will give me a little bit more breathing space.”
But she is disgusted that the cap on bankers’ bonuses is being axed.
She says: “They are already earning millions a year and now they are being rewarded for doing their job. It’s disgusting.
“It’s always the same — those that have more, get more. And those who have nothing, get nothing.
“Overall, I don’t think it’s anything to be amazed by.”
The supply teacher
MARRIED James Arthur, 33, and wife Amelie, 34, who is in marketing, both earn £45,000 a year.
They will be £1,180 a year better off when the 1.25 per cent National Insurance increase is axed in November and 1p is cut from basic rate tax next April.
The couple and their year-old son Leon, who live in Ashtead, Surrey, and spend £3,600 a year on gas and electric, which would have gone through the roof before the Government stepped in.
Thanks to the £400 energy bill rebate, they are unlikely to have to pay more for gas and electric for six months.
Teacher James says: “Tax cuts are a substantial development. It means we can save up or use it to put towards childcare costs.
“But how will we pay for all the Government’s borrowing?”
He is unhappy with axing the highest tax rate of 45 per cent for big earners.
James says: “People who earn more should pay more tax. Their rate should be higher, not lower.”
The supermarket worker
FORMER lorry driver Allan Lunn retired in 2014 after 37 years in his job but now works part-time in a supermarket.
He and wife Sam, a part-time care assistant, will be £85 a year better off.
Allan, 71, from Horncastle, Lincs, says: “Anything is better than nothing.
“It amounts to about seven quid a month, so it’s not the worst thing in the world and it’s not the best. It’s always better to be better off.”
He thinks the mini Budget was disappointing overall.
He says: “I thought they could have done something on VAT and fuel duty.
“It doesn’t affect me that much but I know someone who spends £300 per month just on the school run.”
Allan gets £9,360 in state pension, topped up with almost £3,000 a year from a private pension.
He earns £170 a week at a local supermarket and pays £31 tax weekly.
Meanwhile Sam, 62, brings in £7,904 from her job.
The disabled mum
DISABLED single mum Lyndsey Tate, 40, is no better or worse off after the mini Budget.
Lyndsey, who lives in Kellington, North Yorks, with daughter Georgia, ten, admits: “When the Budget was over, I’ll be honest — I just started crying.
“I don’t know how I’m going to make it to Christmas, let alone give my daughter a present.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be great for people on benefits but all the PM has done is give to the rich.
“They’ve cut taxes for the top one per cent and done naff all for everyone else. They’ve completely left out a massive chunk of society.
“Not just people on benefits but anyone on low or middle incomes.”
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Lyndsey, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety and PTSD, says: “The second cost-of-living payment of £400 will be handy but it’s a spit in the ocean.
“I can’t afford my bills even if they stayed the price they are now. I don’t know how we’ll survive the winter.”