Another budget has come and gone, and the public are quite rightly disappointed.

When one of the headline announcements, a £100 discount on heating bills for households in Council Tax Bands A-D in England, generates such overwhelming demand that it crashes the government website used to check eligibility, it demonstrates just how many people are struggling to make ends meet.

This Labour Government has done little more than maintain the status quo when people need meaningful action. Families need measures that provide genuine support. Instead, this budget merely papers over the cracks of an economy that Labour has failed to repair.

Last year, John Healey resigned from his position as Defence Secretary because the Chancellor did not commit to increasing defence spending. It was a principled stance, and one that deserved recognition.

Fast forward to this week's budget and despite now having the opportunity to set the direction himself, defence remains critically underfunded. The question is whether Mr Healey will once again stand by his principles and resign. I suspect not.

Labour remain fixated on a spiralling welfare bill while neglecting to keep the nation safe. They fail to understand a simple truth: you cannot have social security without national security. If a country cannot defend itself, there will ultimately be nothing left to defend.

We all recognise that difficult decisions have to be made. The Conservatives are prepared to make them.

We want to see Britain growing again, with higher living standards, stronger public finances and an economy that is doing more than merely limping from one budget to the next.

Under Kemi Badenoch's leadership, the Conservative Party would tackle the UK's unsustainable welfare bill and bring spending under control. These are difficult choices, but they are choices that are fair to taxpayers while ensuring support remains available for those who genuinely need it.

By reducing the deficit, we can begin to bring down borrowing costs, ease pressure on mortgage holders and create the conditions for sustained economic growth. Crucially, we would also ensure that our Armed Forces are properly funded, because the first responsibility of any government must be to keep its people safe.

That is the choice facing voters at the next election: a Conservative Party with a clear plan, fiscal responsibility and a commitment to putting your interests first; or a Labour Party that continues to raise taxes while presiding over an ever-expanding welfare bill; and Reform, a party so consumed by internal divisions that it cannot even begin to focus on the challenges facing the country.