Cllr Barry Rawlings reacts to the Chancellor’s statement this afternoon

Hendon Town Hall and (inset) council leader Barry Rawlings

I speak with residents in Barnet every week who tell me the same thing. They work hard. They put in the hours. They keep this borough moving. But for too long their wages have not kept pace with the cost of living. Prices went up. Bills went up. Rent went up. Their pay did not. And people were left trying to make the impossible add up.

That is why this budget matters. The rise in the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage will lift the incomes of 240,000 workers in London, including thousands in Barnet.

These are carers, shop workers, drivers, cleaners and young people starting out. This is real money that will help families get through the month without fear of falling behind.

It builds on the work we have already done locally. When Labour took office in Barnet in 2022, we inherited a borough weakened by years of Conservative outsourcing and financial mismanagement. The ‘Easy Council’ experiment had hollowed out services. Public money was leaked to failing private contracts. Families were squeezed.

We ended that model. We brought 370 jobs back in house. We stabilised the finances after inheriting a sixty two million pound budget hole. We reinstated community skips, cutting fly tipping by a third. We brought pride back to public services because residents deserved better than what they had been left with.

City Hall has backed that work every step of the way. Under Sadiq Khan, Barnet families have received 4.8 million free school meals. He has frozen fares again, saving workers money every time they travel. He has invested in safer streets, youth mentoring and new affordable homes, including 152 new council homes last year. Support that lands directly in people’s lives.

Now national government is doing its part. This Budget is built around working people. Wages are rising. Stability is being restored. Local government grants are increasing after years of cuts. There is targeted support for homelessness, free breakfast clubs for Barnet children, and investment in greener homes and regeneration. For the first time in a generation, Barnet has Labour delivering locally, London wide and nationally.

The contrast with the Conservatives could not be sharper. They left Barnet with broken services and a broken budget. They hollowed out the council through mass outsourcing. And their national record speaks for itself. Austerity followed by the Liz Truss mini budget that crashed the economy and drove up mortgages and rents. Barnet families are still paying the price for that economic vandalism.

This pay rise shows there is a better way. A practical, disciplined approach that rewards work, supports families and rebuilds stability. A council that fixes what is broken. A mayor who makes life more affordable. A government that lifts wages and restores confidence.

Barnet is back on track because Labour is delivering at every level. But progress is not automatic. It is something we have to protect. This Budget, this wage rise and the work happening across our borough show exactly what is at stake.

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