SDLP says that the 2023 budget spells no chance of solid pay deal for public workers

Meanwhile the Alliance Party dubbed Chris Heaton-Harris’ spending plans as “brutal”.

Every single one of Northern Ireland’s major parties has heaped criticism on the budget, including the TUV and People Before Profit (the Green Party had not emailed any statement on the budget to the News Letter’s newsdesk by close of business on Thursday).

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MP said: “The budget published by the Secretary of State today will damage public services and devastate the people who rely on them.

"Flat cash budget lines will lead to flatlining services and further pay injustice for the public sector workers who have been left to deal with the consequences of a political boycott of government.

“Under the terms of this budget there is no space to transform public services. The settlement will mean no fair pay deal for people giving their all to keep this society going.”

Alliance Finance spokesman Andrew Muir MLA said: “This is an absolutely brutal budget for Northern Ireland, which will bring significant damage to our public services and our ability to develop our economy.

“The inevitable deep cuts we will now see will not be easily reversed and cause irreparable harm.

"Policies and programmes focusing on prevention and early intervention are particularly under threat. This simply stores up even greater challenges in the future.

“While most departments may roughly be similar to last year in cash terms, this does not account for inflationary and pay pressures or other inescapable requirements.

“We urgently need a devolved Executive to effectively manage this situation.

"Without that, civil servants are in an untenable situation of being forced to make what are highly political decisions around the allocation of scarce resources.”

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll meanwhile described the Stormont budget as an “outright attack on the people of the North” adding “the Tories are punishing the public for the intransigence of their one-time DUP allies”.