Welwyn Hatfield's Labour MP Andrew Lewin has described the Autumn Budget as key to "rebuilding" the UK and the constituency in a House of Commons speech.

Mr Lewin was among the first MPs to speak after chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the budget on Wednesday (October 30).

Support for the NHS both nationally and locally was among his key points of focus, saying: "We will prosper as a country only if our society is in good health, and if we choose to invest in places and people.

"This is a Budget that invests in the country and in my community in Welwyn Hatfield. In my local NHS trust, 1,700 people have been waiting longer than a year to start treatment in our health service.

"We cannot fix the economy without getting people back to health, and to do that we need both investment and reform. That is why the £22.6 billion in extra investment announced for the NHS is so significant. Excluding the COVID-19 emergency, it is the single biggest investment since 2010.

"But we have to embrace new technology as well, and I know that is a priority for our Government.

"We cannot fix the NHS without supporting our staff, and the 5.5 per cent pay rises announced in the first few weeks of this Labour Government are landing in people’s payslips this week.

"Key workers who endured so much during covid are finally being rewarded with a fair pay deal."

Mr Lewin has been one of a number of Hertfordshire MPs raising concerns about SEND funding in the county, and he was pleased to see £1 billion of investment in the sector included in the Budget.

"Since the summer, I have visited a different school in Welwyn Hatfield every week," he said. 

"On each and every visit, I have been blown away by the dedication of the staff and the abilities of the children, but too many have not been getting the support from the state that they deserve.

"That is why I was so glad to hear today the £1 billion of extra investment in SEND. I will be thinking of children studying at Lakeside school in Welwyn Garden City and Southfield school in Hatfield, who so desperately need that extra support."

He also raised housing, continuing: "When the Conservatives took office in 2010, they slashed funding for social housing.

"The results have been as devastating as they were predictable. A deepening housing crisis playing out in communities across the country.

"On their watch, Welwyn Hatfield has been losing council homes every year. We have to turn the corner and this Budget does that.

"The immediate £500 million injection into the affordable homes programme sends a clear message. Labour will invest in building social and council homes again.

"The rebuilding of our country and my community starts with this Government and this Budget. It is a Budget for schools, a Budget for housing, a Budget for our NHS, and a Budget that I am so proud to support."