Labour was handed an economy and country in chaos, and carry a significant responsibility to rebuild, amidst a volatile geopolitical landscape, not least when we are seeing economic shocks emerging from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and trade tariffs handed out from the White House. Fiscal responsibility is crucial if we are going to prevent interest rates to soar, however this must never be on the back of millions of people, many on low-incomes.

The super-rich should be paying their way through a wealth tax, As little as a 2% tax on wealth over £10 million would raise £24 billion every year. Money that will go to our NHS, our social care services, our buses and our schools. According to Oxfam and Tax Justice, 78% of people support a wealth tax, 77% support increased taxes on the richest to improve public services.

We have room to manoeuvre and a mandate from people who clearly voted for change, the equalisation of capital gains tax with income tax, keeping the Digital Services Tax and ensuring the banks and businesses which are creaming off billions and taking it overseas, make their contribution. The Labour Party was founded with a moral purpose to represent the many, not the few, and I can assure our city, I will continue to do everything possible to fight your corner, to tackle the scandal of inequality and improve people’s lives.

It is therefore deeply troubling, while right to support people into work, that those who are struggling are expected to have their lifeline cut, whether the health element of universal credit or Personal Independence Payments, designed to give support to people both in and out of work. Hearing that cuts could go even deeper than anticipated is completely unacceptable. The devastating impact of people losing essential income will fall on disabled people. I will not accept or vote for measures that will put people at risk or push deeper into poverty.