Whose future is this Budget building?

The Chancellor spoke warmly about Britain’s banks in last week’s budget. He repeatedly praised their contribution and celebrated their role in the economy.

But in a speech setting out the country’s economic future, he did not once use the words “climate emergency”.

That omission matters. Climate change is not a distant concern to be fitted in when the economy is doing well. It is already shaping our lives through floods, heatwaves, damaged nature and rising costs.

And this is not simply the view of environmental campaigners. The UK’s own national security assessments identify climate change and the collapse of vital ecosystems as serious threats to our national security and resilience — risks that could disrupt economies, undermine food supplies, drive conflict and destabilise regions on which Britain depends.

If our security and intelligence analysts recognise these dangers, why were they so conspicuously absent from the Chancellor’s account of Britain's future? A budget that claims to plan for the long term should put the climate crisis at its heart, not treat it as an afterthought.

That silence is particularly troubling when set against the access enjoyed by the fossil-fuel industry. According to an investigation by The National, Shell, Equinor, Ithaca Energy, Adura and industry body Offshore Energies UK — organisations linked to the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas projects — were involved in around 200 meetings with UK ministers during Labour’s first two years in government.

Ministers should hear from businesses and other stakeholders. But when companies with billions at stake have such extensive access, while the climate emergency barely registers in the Budget speech, it is reasonable to ask whose voices are being heard — and whose future is being prioritised.

The budget also exposed an unfairness young people know all too well. From April, the minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over will rise to £13.20 an hour. For those aged 18 to 20, it will be just £11.27.

That is a gap of almost £2 an hour for people who may be doing identical work. The cost of a bus ticket, a food shop or a room to rent doesn’t come with an age discount. Young people face the same rising bills, yet the government says their work is worth less.

And what does the budget mean for Wales? Despite additional funding announcements, the Welsh Government says its resource funding will be 0.5% lower in real terms next year. Capital funding is set to fall in real terms each year, leaving it almost 10% lower by 2029–30.

That means less room to invest in public services, transport, housing and infrastructure. At a time when Wales is already dealing with poverty, inequality and the impacts of climate change, this is no adequate settlement.

A Budget should be more than a set of figures and forecasts. It should tell us what kind of country we want to become, what we value and whose lives we are trying to improve.

We need investment that tackles the climate emergency, creates secure, well-paid jobs and takes real action to cut the cost of living. We need a minimum wage that treats young workers fairly. And we need Wales to have the resources and powers to build a fairer, greener future.

Instead, this budget leaves us asking whether the Government is listening to the people who will live with its consequences — or to those who already have the greatest access to power.

The future belongs to all of us. It’s time our budgets – and our politicians - started acting like it.