Today in Parliament I spoke up against the Government’s cuts to National Insurance Contributions.

Throughout the speech, I made reference to the past 60 years of trickle-down economics, where the wealth has been promised to reach those at the bottom, but has failed to do so. This latest round of tax cuts is more of this economic orthodoxy.

I spoke about the poor condition of our public services, specifically in Norfolk and Waveney, where we have the country’s worst rates of malnutrition. I pointed to the example of West Earlham Infant and Nursery School, a school in my constituency that I had visited earlier this year.

I told the story of the headteacher who described tell-tale signs of hungry children as pupils eating sand, as well as turning up to school with bowed legs. A tax cut to National Insurance would do nothing to help schools address this crisis, nor would it help families out of poverty.

Watch part of my speech below.