TRAFFORD'S MPs were divided on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's spring statement on Wednesday.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a number of measures to the House of Commons, like a £3,000 rise in the National Insurance threshold and a 5p-a-litre cut to fuel duty.

He also announced a 1p-in-the-pound cut to income tax to come in 2024, among several other measures.

Mr Sunak said: "This statement puts billions back into the pockets of people across the UK and delivers the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century."

Sir Graham Brady, the Chancellor's Conservative Party colleague and the MP for Altrincham and Sale West, said the measures offered significant mitigation against the cost of living crisis.

Sir Graham said: "[This is] the biggest net cut in personal taxes in 25 years.

"As Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis said when the Chancellor sat down, whilst the increase in NI will go ahead, by raising the threshold at which people begin to pay NI, he ensured nobody earning less than £35,000 a year will pay more.

"This is also a welcome simplification of the tax system because he has aligned the threshold for NI with the income tax threshold.

"Other welcome measures included a cut in fuel duty and help for small businesses.

"The big inflationary pressures which resulted from lockdowns and which were made worse by the invasion of Ukraine will still be painful for many people, but Rishi Sunak has made some significant efforts to mitigate the rising cost of living."

But the Labour Party MP for Stretford and Urmston, Kate Green, said the measures failed to offer help where it is needed the most.

She made reference to a revelation made by the Office for Budget Responsibility, also on Wednesday, that the fall in living standards to come is the biggest since records started in the 1950s.

Ms Green said: "Rishi Sunak has presided over the biggest drop in household incomes since records began and the highest tax burden for 70 years.

"With inflation soaring, many of my constituents still don’t know how they’ll pay for the basics, like food and energy bills. We would act now to tackle the cost of living crisis people face."

Mike Kane, the MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, was approached for a comment.