I always want my decisions to support the priorities of Yorkshire - Rachel Reeves
This week’s Budget builds on the choices we have made since last July to deliver on the country’s priorities – to cut NHS waiting lists, cut the cost of living, and cut debt and borrowing.
Changing Britain was always going to be hard, with the legacy of past decisions and past governments worse than previously thought.
But this Budget doubles down on our work to grow the economy, turning our backs on austerity and maintaining the highest levels of public investment in four decades.
It makes the right choices for a fairer, stronger and more secure Britain, building a platform from which British ambition can finally get moving again.
That ambition is delivered by the men and women who work hard every day in every part of our country, from Leeds to Scarborough, from Sheffield to Selby.
And this means asking everyone to contribute, especially those with the broadest shoulders so we can deliver the fair reforms that have been ducked for too long.
Fairness also demands that we acknowledge that making children poor costs us all in the long run.
On the day I became Chancellor, I said I would judge my time in office a success if ordinary children from working‑class backgrounds were living more fulfilling lives.
The biggest barrier to equal opportunity is child poverty. For every child who grows up in poverty, our society pays a cost for a lifetime.
The status quo unfairly punished children for the circumstances of their birth.
That is why I’m proud that this Budget removes the two‑child limit in full from April – lifting 450,000 children out of poverty, paid for by cracking down on fraud and error in our welfare system, tax avoidance and our reforms to online gambling taxation.
Combined with other actions, like free breakfast clubs, investment in libraries and playgrounds, and the extension of our 30 hours free childcare, this government is delivering the biggest reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since records began.
But I still know that millions of families and children in Yorkshire are struggling.
As a Yorkshire MP, I always want my decisions – both as an MP and as Chancellor – to support the priorities of this region. This Budget delivers that.
Yorkshire mayors will be able to introduce a visitor levy on overnight accommodation in their region, driving economic growth and funds for areas that need support.
The Budget supports a new Leeds City Fund, bringing growth to the area, while £1.4bn support for West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire will mean investment in local priorities like infrastructure, business development and skills.
This will sit alongside the northern growth corridor, developed in partnership with local leaders, universities and businesses, to attract investment and expertise.
I will also transfer the Investment Reserve Fund of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme to its members, so that the Yorkshire women and men who worked in our coal industry get a fair deal in their retirement too.
This Budget makes fair and necessary choices – but those choices are for a purpose: building a stronger, fairer country, where living standards rise, child poverty falls, and public services are renewed in every corner of Britain.
Rachel Reeves is the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey.