Chancellor, Rachel Reeves highly anticipated autumn budget delivered announcements on tax and spending, pay and pensions, but people in Andover were upset that she failed to deliver on her promises.   

Minimum wages paid by employers will rise from £11.44 an hour to £12.21 an hour for people over 21 and will rise by £1.40 an hour to £10 for 18-21-year-olds.

One 19 year old who works for a coffee chain said it was good news for him, but worried that staffing might be cut to make up for the increase: “Sometimes I’m exhausted because the shifts are long with not enough breaks, I’m worried this rise means we won’t get sickness and holiday pay.”

On top of the extra staff costs, many employers will have to make a bigger contribution to National Insurance and Karen Rees thinks this will affect some companies: “It will definitely impact on businesses, they’ll cut the workforce.

"I work for a supermarket chain and they’re already not replacing staff who leave to save money. People are now expected to work more to cover the reduction in staff.”

READ MORE: Royal recognition for family Andover probiotics company

Travelling to work by bus will cost some people more, as the single bus cap fare will be raised to £3 in 2025, up from £2.

Councillor Iris Anderson was angry that vulnerable people were being targeted: “The government is penalising people who don’t have money. I feel that pensioners who’ve worked hard and paid their taxes while they were working are entitled to more help.”

Sharon Bulpitt, who lives in Andover was not fan of the Autumn budget either.

She said: “I’m really irritated, this was an opportunity to think about ordinary everyday people who are struggling. The government doesn’t know how we live and what we go through to make ends meet.

"They live on a different planet. They say there'll be a review of health and disability benefits, but they’ve got no real plans."

Martin Rees, a former RAF employee was worried about the plans for private schools to pay VAT from January 2025: “There are a lot of children locally who go to boarding schools because their parents move a lot. This will penalise children. There’ll be a lot of parents despairing.”

But some had a positive word to say about the Budget, particularly plans to shave 1p off a pint in the pub. Derek Armitage was just leaving the Andover Tap: “Good news for me, it might help pubs stay afloat.”