The people of Dudley talk about their hopes and fears for the forthcoming budget announcement.
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00:00This Wednesday the government introduces its first budget since it took over as
00:04government in July. I've been here in Dudley speaking to people about that
00:08budget, asking them what their expectations are, what their hopes are,
00:10what they want the government to do for them. So let's see what they had to say.
00:14I'm a man now saying it anyway. What do you hope the government's going to do?
00:19What would you want the government to do for you? Well they don't look after the
00:23pensioners enough, do they? I mean they took all the heat and limbs off us and it's
00:26took us years to get there, so how didn't you feel about that? Do you feel that in a
00:31way that they need to do more to help people like yourself? Yeah, they should do.
00:35I mean I've worked all my life, haven't you? And looking at it, I mean what would you like
00:41them to do? Give back the heating allowance or is there anything else
00:43that you'd want to see happen? Give back the heating allowance and look after the pensioners a bit more.
00:48Well let's wait and see I think to be fair and I'm not expecting anything to
00:55be easy in the budget. I'm expecting it to be a lot of, what shall we say, things
01:04against than more than positives really. Well they've been talking about tough
01:09times, they've been talking about not taxing working people. Running a market
01:14store, do you think that you're going to be positively or negatively affected by
01:17the budget? Positively. Everybody has to pay tax, you know, so regardless of
01:23whether you're running a small store or a big store or a big business, we're all
01:28going to be taxed at the end of the day in one form or another form.
01:31I suppose looking ahead, what would you want to see to benefit yourself? I'd like
01:38to say to think that the fuel has still come down a bit more. I'd like to see the
01:44prices will come down a little bit. I mean I don't mind paying a little bit
01:50more on National Insurance if it's going, you know, to the NHS and whatever. I don't
01:54mind that. Basically things can only get better, right? Yeah. I think that it's
02:00going to take more than one budget to turn this country around. You know, it's
02:07regardless of whoever has been in power for the last ten years, I think we've
02:12been in a right mess anyway, to be honest with you. No, no hope at all. I don't
02:17trust him as far as I could throw him, unfortunately. I think he's told a lot of
02:20porkies, a lot of lies and he's gone back on all of them. But looking ahead, do you
02:27think that if there is some positive news coming out of the budget, do you think
02:31that it could be a step in the right direction for the country? Hopefully, but
02:33it's all according if he changes his mind again because he's gone back on
02:37different things all the time. Things he said he was going to do, he's gone back
02:41on them and that's no good for the country. You know, I mean we're
02:46in enough trouble without him trying to make things and make them up and then
02:50not do them. So I'm not happy with him. I think people who pay tax need to be
02:57looked after because there is a tendency for the people who pay tax and
03:02who are highly qualified, highly skilled. If the government keep pressing them to
03:07pay more, eventually these people will leave the country and we'll have people
03:13who are supposed to be paying tax, they will not be here. So they should take into
03:17consideration the people who are paying tax and the middle-class people and
03:22they need a lot of attention from the government. Is there anything for
03:27yourself personally you'd want to see from Wednesday? Yes, because I'm a
03:32pensioner and I have to pay for television license. Besides that, the
03:40winter payments have been stopped. Now can you imagine somebody who has worked all
03:46their life and not having to pay, which was already paid to us
03:50initially, now they're taking it away, which is not fair. I think people who
03:55have paid their dues, now they are being taxed or they are penalized, which
04:01is not fair. And because in the old age you need extra help because you are at
04:06home, you're using the heating and lots of other things. So your message to the
04:11government would be do something to help me please? Absolutely, absolutely. Thank
04:15you very much. I would like the government to consider the need of
04:20the people who are paying tax and the need of the people who are retired.