Gordon has reacted to the Government's Autumn Statement, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer today delivered in Parliament.



He said: "Evan Davis of BBC Newsnight has said it all - “every so often a Budget or Autumn Statement comes along that is seriously bad fiscal news” - this is one of those occasions!

"The economic outlook for people in Blackpool is already doing worse than other parts of the country – on the employment figures it is very worrying. The Chancellor’s forecasts are that borrowing will be £122 billion worse off in 2021 than was originally stated only in March. Our growth for next year (2017) will be nearly 1% down on what was forecast earlier this year and the independent Office for Budget says we can expect a 2 ½% cut in growth over the next few years. All these follow on from the Brexit result.

"The new money that the Chancellor has announced is quite inadequate to stimulate the economy and much of it going elsewhere than in Lancashire and the North West. For example he’s found £110 million for the new east-west rail links across the midlands but nothing apparently for east-west rail links across the North West. There has also been no movement to reduce the estimated £22 billion of NHS cuts that Jeremy Corbyn tackled Theresa May about at Prime Ministers Questions today.

"Meanwhile hidden away in the small print of the Autumn Statement is a steep rise in insurance tax to 12%. That will mean everyone in Blackpool paying more for all their insurance policies next year. This is the 3rd increase in Insurance Tax by the Tories since June 2015. The previous increase has so far cost people an average of £26 extra on a car insurance policy and £19 extra on insuring your house and contents. It’s even costing you £21 and £12 on insurance policies to protect your dog or cat.

"People are entitled to ask what all this painful austerity was for, given the dire state of the economy that the Chancellor and the Government have had to admit to today."