In a historic moment, Labour’s first Budget since 2010 has left many wondering what the future could possibly bring. While most of the policies won’t come into effect until next year, this will affect you and how it will, is something that we have all been anxious to know.  

Bus Fares 

Norwich North’s MP, Alice MacDonald has welcomed this new budget as a “rejection of austerity,” however, local MP, Clive Lewis, has previously called for more redistribution and an increase in taxation of the super wealthy in order to maintain an affordable bus fare cap.  

However, despite this, the cap is set to increase by 50% from 1^st January.  

So, what does this mean for you? 

Well, the single bus fare will increase to £3. While an increase of a pound doesn’t sound significant, those students that are relying on the bus to get to and from campus, will soon feel the impact of an extra pound or two a day.  

Vapes and Tobacco 

While the government has U-turned on their decision to ban smoking in beer gardens, they are planning on making vaping and tobacco more expensive, due to new health warnings on vaping. 

The duty rate on all tobacco products will increase to 2% above inflation, with hand-rolling tobacco increasing by an additional 10%, making it a 12% duty rate. For 10ml of vape liquid, a duty of £2.20 will be introduced in 2026, almost doubling the average price.  

This along with the ban on disposable vapes coming into force in the summer of 2025, will make vaping more difficult and more expensive, all to discourage use. 

Employers National Insurance Increase 

While this is something that might not affect students directly, the rise of Employers National Insurance (NI) to 15% from 13.8% will make it more expensive for your current or future employers.  

The secondary threshold will also decrease, which will mean employers will have to start paying NI for employee’s earnings from £5,000 instead of the current threshold of £9,100. 

What does this mean for you? 

As small and medium sized businesses are likely to be hit the hardest, if you are currently in part-time employment, there may be redundancies, as some businesses won’t be able to afford to keep the same staff numbers.  

If you are currently in your last year of university, it could also mean that it is more difficult to find future employment for the same reasons; some companies will not be able to afford more staff. And with that comes a lot of uncertainty.  

UEA as an Employer 

Unfortunately, the rise in Employers NI not only affect your current or future employers, but as the university is an employer of 3,712 (as of 2022/3), there could possibly be more job losses for staff members.  

A UEA spokesperson said: “The University has to meet its obligations to pay the increased NI contributions and will do so…The University’s Executive Team and Finance Committee will consider their response to the increased fee cap and additional NI costs in due course.” 

However, with the financial trouble UEA has had in the past and the recent announcement of a further 3% cut to finances before the budget was even released, what the rise in employers NI means for the university, isn’t yet clear, but it could possibly lead to further redundancies. 

And unfortunately, with redundancies, comes strikes, and with strikes comes class disruptions. If this becomes a reality for UEA, it could become a difficult next few years for students.  

It is still unclear whether the recent announcement of the rise in tuition fees will help the fiscal situation at UEA but, in a comment made to Concrete, Clive Lewis argued that “the £285 p.a student fee increases are, at best, a sticking plaster. They won’t stave off the collapse of many institutions and add to students’ debts.”  

What’s Good? 

While this all sounds very negative, and a lot of these worries could become realities in the next few years, this budget is not all bad. Real spending is set to increase by an average of 4.8% in 2024, with education and the NHS being prioritised.  

The rise in the minimum wage to £8.60 for 18-20-year-olds and £11.44 for 21 and over, could be seen as a sign that this government is trying to prioritise the poorest in society who have been so deeply affected by the cost-of-living crisis. 

This is a very new budget from a new government. Clive Lewis highlighted how “no single budget could possibly undo all the damage done over so many years, but this seems like a very positive step forward.” 

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