Sorcha Eastwood, Alliance MP for Lagan Valley, has criticised the UK Government’s Budget announcement made on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, asserting that it confirms a fundamental failure to deliver meaningful economic support.

She argued that the Budget did not provide the necessary stability and growth for working families, small businesses, and the most vulnerable across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

While welcoming the decision to remove the two-child benefit cap, which she described as a "long-overdue correction to a cruelly unjust policy," Ms Eastwood stated that the overall Budget was a clear example of the government's inability to effect tangible change amidst rising living costs and falling living standards.

Ms Eastwood highlighted several key areas of concern: "The continued freeze on income tax thresholds remains a concerning ‘stealth’ tax, pulling more and more people into higher tax bands, and costing households significantly in the long run," she said. The MP also expressed disappointment over the lack of support for specific sectors, including the hospitality industry, which received no VAT cut despite facing continued pressure. Furthermore, she criticised the lack of acknowledgement or reversal of the damaging changes to Agricultural Property Relief, which has left farming families "exposed at a time when food security has never been more important."

Focusing on Northern Ireland, Ms Eastwood warned that investment was limited. She stated that it is now "absolutely vital that the Finance Minister acts urgently to replicate the business rates support being offered to SMEs in Great Britain," to ensure local small businesses are not left at a competitive disadvantage yet again.

Concluding her critique, Ms Eastwood said the Chancellor had missed an opportunity to ease the strain on people who are "stretched to breaking point." She added: "Instead, the wider picture remains unchanged, depicting an economy weakened by years of poor decision-making, and a government ignoring the needs of ordinary people, small businesses, and rural communities."