Last week the Government announced their budget for the 2014/15 financial year. Dagenham and Rainham MP Jon Cruddas responded to the budget finding a lack of substance that would help people in Dagenham and Rainham.
Jon Cruddas MP said "We needed a budget that would tackle the cost ?of ? living crisis which has left many people in Dagenham and Rainham worse off.
I hear from my constituents in Dagenham and Rainham every day how they are struggling with increased energy, transport and housing costs.
What we have seen is a huge tax cut for millionaires whilst millions of hard-working people have seen their taxes go up.
Despite the Government's efforts manufacturing, construction and infrastructure investment are all down. Exports are falling, not rising.
The Government need to take action to introduce a jobs guarantee, freeze energy bills, expand free childcare, get more homes built and cut business rates for small firms.
Locally in Dagenham and Rainham we have seen a rise in unemployment in the first three months of 2014. Clearly, this is not a recovery for all. Alongside this we have people who are in work but still struggling to make ends meet. The Government need to take further action to tackle the abuse of zero-hour contracts and the bigger issue of working people being trapped in poverty".