Think back to last July. Britain finally had the wind at its back. Our economy was the fastest-growing in the G7, inflation was back to target, borrowing was falling and the national debt was projected to follow.

Eighteen months on, that momentum has been squandered. Public spending has exploded by half a trillion pounds, the deficit has more than doubled, unemployment has climbed to five per cent and taxes are now at the highest level in modern history.

I cannot overstate how damaging this is for our community across Farnham, Haslemere, Bordon and Liphook.

Only last Monday, before the Budget, I sat down with local employers at my business roundtable. Every firm, from high streets to hospitality, gave the same message: costs up, confidence down and a government making it harder, not easier, to grow. A few days later the Chancellor delivered her third financial statement since taking office, despite earlier promises of just one a year. She also repeated her pledge not to raise taxes. Instead we were given a Budget that heaps the cost of an ever-expanding state onto working people while letting a welfare system in need of urgent reform drift on untouched.

The headline figure says it all: £26 billion in extra taxes. The overall burden now sits at around 40 percent of the entire economy. By extending the freeze on tax thresholds for another three years, millions will be pulled into higher bands simply because their wages keep pace with inflation.

The Chancellor herself once admitted this approach punishes workers, yet she has pressed on regardless. Pension contributions made through salary sacrifice will now face new charges. Council tax will rise for everyone.

The new levy on higher-value homes will fall heavily on our area, where “higher value” certainly does not mean luxury. Yet there is still no plan for growth, no real effort to get more people into work and no attempt to spend public money more wisely.

You do not need spreadsheets to see the consequences. Just days after the Budget, the Holly Bush in Headley explained their situation to customers. Costs are rising everywhere. Alcohol duty has gone up again. Suppliers and breweries are increasing their prices. Their rateable value is jumping from £14,500 to more than £20,000. With ministers withdrawing the relief that once protected smaller venues, their monthly bill will more than double.

They cannot keep absorbing the pressure. Any modest rise in prices is not profiteering; it is survival and it protects local jobs.

When families, small businesses and high streets tighten their belts, Government should do the same. Instead this Budget treats them as the easiest target.

A responsible country lives within its means. That is the standard I will continue to demand, because our community deserves nothing less.