State pensions are going up and people on minimum wage can expect a big pay rise in the wake of the government's Autumn Statement.
But there was little indication that Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt had changed the outlook for his party after his hour-long statement to the House of Commons.
And the reaction from Suffolk split down party lines.
The biggest change for the greatest number is the decision to cut basic National Insurance contributions from 12% to 10% from the start of next year.
That will mean someone earning £35k a year will pay £450 less National Insurance. A total of 27m people pay this tax in the UK.
State pensions will go up by 8.5% in April as Mr Hunt announced the Triple Lock would be maintained - and Universal Credit will rise by 6.7%.
However long-term benefit claimants will be expected to take jobs within 18 months or risk losing their benefits.
He also confirmed that the minimum wage would rise to £11.44 an hour next April.
However there were gaps in the statement - and Mr Hunt said nothing about local government finance or devolution plans.
Suffolk County Council deputy leader Richard Rout said: “We and our Members of Parliament continue to lobby government on the key pressures facing the county council – home to school transport, particularly for those with Special Educational Needs, SEND more broadly, and adult social care.
"We know that this message is being heard and much more will be clear when we receive our local government settlement on or around December 23.”
Mr Rout is also Conservative candidate for the new Waveney Valley seat and welcomed many of the changes: “This Autumn Statement for Growth is a result of the difficult decisions the Government has taken.
"It means it is now in a position to cut taxes, for businesses and people, and boost economic growth across Waveney Valley.
“The Prime Minister made a clear promise that taxes would be cut when inflation was falling and that is exactly what the Chancellor has delivered today with the 2% reduction in Employee National Insurance Contributions.
“The largest ever cash increase in the National Living Wage will make a real difference to those on the lowest incomes and ensure that hard work always pays."
Mr Rout's Green opponent will be Adrian Ramsay, the party's co-leader. He described the statement as: “A failed opportunity to end the cost of living crisis, restore crumbling rural public services and tackle the climate crisis.”
He said: “Our ten point Green plan would raise £30 billion by making the tax system fairer, incentivise green investments, restore a decent safety net for lower income families and bring back GP and dentists services to communities that have been without them.
"The chancellor’s Autumn Statement seems to be ignoring the real pain felt by the people that I talk to on the doorstep every week in our rural area. He is not doing enough to tackle the cost of living crisis."
And Ipswich Labour candidate Jack Abbott was also dismissive of the statement: "Despite all the empty promises today, our economy is not working and people in Ipswich are still worse off.
"We are now facing the largest reduction in real living standards since records began in the 1950s, while the tax burden will reach its highest level for 70 years.
"After 13 years of Conservatives, growth is down while mortgages, prices, taxes, debt are all up. Tinkering around the edges is simply not going to cut it when the challenges facing us have been allowed to become so great.
"It is time for a Labour government with a plan to make working people better off."
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