'The country has not been working for ordinary people in Sandwell or Dudley for decades' - Labour deputy Lucy Powell
The Budget, the cost of living and the 'game-changing' potential of the metro were all discussed by the deputy leader of the Labour Party on a special visit to Rowley Regis this week.
Lucy Powell was in Rowley Regis on Saturday (November 29) to meet with campaigners, local councillors and members.
The Manchester Central MP was keen to talk about the autumn Budget on Wednesday which featured headline announcements such as cuts to energy bills, a rise in the minimum wage and extending a freeze on tax thresholds for an extra three years.
She said the party had made some difficult choices, but had made them to help support people struggling to get by - and said the choices made had been popular with the people she had spoken to.
She said: "I'm pleased with the Budget and it's a difficult context, but as a Labour Government, I think we've made some really clear choices in this Budget to support people with cost of living and those who are struggling to get by and asking those people with the broader shoulders through things like the mansion tax or changing a tax system to make it fairer to those who earn their income from their assets and their wealth.
"We're making these choices to support ordinary working people with their cost of living and asking those with the broader shoulders to pay their fair share and I know that people aren't going to like it when you deliver a Labour Budget that supports people that support Labour and ordinary working people, our political opponents and our opponents in the media aren't going to like it.
"That's why we're here today, talking directly to people, and I know that many of the measures that we've announced in the Budget are really popular with people and that's the direction of travel people want to see.
"We're not going to turn the country around with one Budget, this is taking a big programme and we've got a plan to renew the country over the next 10 years and it's going to take a number of Budgets, a number of policies and the plans we've got to really change the country for the better and for the people of this area."
