Political opinion by Alison Griffiths MP: A closer look at how the Government is spending your money

Last week, the Chancellor delivered the 2025 Spending Review. It’s the Government’s process for setting departmental budgets for the years ahead. I was in the House of Commons, listening closely to understand what this means for residents across Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, and our surrounding villages.

Let me begin by welcoming the decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027. In an increasingly uncertain world, investing in our national security is essential. It was the Conservatives who consistently championed this increase. However, this is the bare minimum. There is no pathway provided by the Government to reach the 3% of GDP advocated by the Conservative Party.

I’m pleased by the announcement made ahead of the Review to largely reverse this Government’s cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment. More than 75% of pensioners will now receive the payment in time for winter. Pensioners earning £35,000 or less will automatically receive the support. With my Conservative colleagues, this is an issue I’ve long campaigned on, raising it in Parliament, in the media, and through speeches and interventions.

However, the Spending Review raises serious concerns. It follows a “spend now, tax later” approach, with no credible plan for economic growth and no clear explanation of how these commitments will be funded. It’s fantasy economics, which assumes significant savings from “productivity” and “digital reform”. It doesn’t spend your money wisely.

Labour’s plans will increase debt interest payments by £80 billion over this Parliament. Even that assumes that the OBR forecasts on interest rates hold firm. That’s money that otherwise could have been spent on our schools, roads, and local services. Residents and businesses across our towns and villages will once again be left to pick up the cost.

The Home Office faces real-terms cuts. This raises the urgent question: how will the Government fund its pledge to recruit new police officers?

After the Chancellor’s £40 billion tax raid in the Autumn Statement, businesses are feeling squeezed. This latest spending spree offers no reassurance that further tax rises aren’t just around the corner.

This Spending Review wasn’t a serious plan for the economy. It was political positioning dressed up as policy. A magic money tree on steroids. The inevitable tax rises to pay for it, means that it is working people who’ll be left picking up the bill. I’ll keep fighting for a serious, sustainable plan that works for Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and our villages.

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If you have an issue you think I can help with, please email me at [email protected] or write to me at Alison Griffiths MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.