RESIDENTS of Basingstoke have had their say on Labours budget.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour's first budget in 14 years earlier today, Wednesday, October 30, raising taxes, pensions and the minimum wage.

The Gazette spoke to a number of residents in the town centre to find out what they think of the financial changes.

Alison Butler said that although the basic and new state pension payments will go up by 4.1 per cent, it "won't make much difference because taxes are going up too.

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Alison Butler shared her thoughtsAlison Butler shared her thoughts (Image: Newsquest)

"They took away our winter fuel allowance already which was really unfair, and because of that and more taxes, my pension won't actually go up, it will just be spent on that instead.

"I think they should do more for NHS staff, they should get a pay rise, I wonder if the increase will cover that?"

The Labour budget promised an extra £22.6bn for day-to-day spending on the NHS in England, and a £3.1bn boost to the budget for investment.

Caroline Ball, a pensioner, said: "I am glad that pensions are going up, it means I will be able to afford to buy things."

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Mike Smith shared his thoughtsMike Smith shared his thoughts (Image: Newsquest)

Mike Smith was visiting the town from Salisbury.

He explained how he feared for a worse outcome, saying: "It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be, actually.

"I was worried about inheritance tax and capital gains tax and it’s not as bad as I thought.

"I think inheritance tax is staying the same and capital gains tax on property I was worried about but I think that is staying the same."

Richard Barker shared his thoughtsRichard Barker shared his thoughts (Image: Newsquest)

Richard Barker, 67, is a pensioner from Old Basing.

He wanted some changes to happen sooner than planned - in response to the minimum wage going up from April, he said: "Well, why not now?"

He added that it is a "good thing" that there will be a £22.5b increase in the day-to-day NHS health budget.

In response to hearing that pensions will be increasing, he said: "I’m a pensioner so that’s good"

Richard was bemused at the thought of draught alcohol being reduced by a single penny, saying: "It's the first time I’ve known that happen, what’s a penny these days when it’s about five quid a pint."

After finding out that £1.8bn will be set aside for wrongly prosecuted Post Office sub-postmasters, he said: "It’s about time they were paid, that’s a great idea."

However, Richard wasn't happy with Labour, suggesting they "lied" about the increase in taxes.

He said: "Overall, I tend to think that Labour didn’t tell us the truth in their election manifesto, none of today should have been a surprise, they were just voted in a few weeks ago and they had a manifesto setting out what they were going to do and they haven’t really done it."

One 77-year-old resident who asked not to be named was not happy with the budget, stating that the increase in taxes will "make it difficult for employers to be able to hire more staff."

She added: "I have lived under both Conservatives and Labour and I dread to think what will happen to the country by Christmas, they [Labour] promised to lower taxes but they lied to us."