MY test for the Budget announced in Parliament this week is simple, and it is the same for everything that comes to that place, will it, on balance, make things better for people in Furness?

That question is all the more acute since I became an independent MP and am no longer expected to follow any party whip.

So, while there were many missed opportunities to right the damage done by years of austerity in Furness, my view is that there is enough that is positive in the package announced by the chancellor to make the answer a qualified: ‘yes’.

And so today I will take the unusual step of voting with the government to give initial approval the budget.

To be clear, there is much to improve.

Many teachers will be tearing their hair out by the patronising way the schools funding crisis was dismissed.

Not enough was done for the least well off, including too little to mitigate the negative impact that universal credit will have on some of the most vulnerable members of our community when the new government benefit comes into force in Barrow next month. And the starvation of vital services to be delivered by local government will continue.

There will opportunities to make amendments to the Budget package as the finance bill goes through the House of Commons in the coming weeks and months, and I will be alongside my former Labour colleagues voting to prioritise those issues.

But ultimately I don’t believe I would be doing right by the people who have given me the responsibility of representing them if I voted to reject completely a budget which is balance-positive on the grounds that it should have done more.

The pledge of extra money for the Dreadnought programme, which should keep funding from the Treasury on track for the remainder of the year, is straightforward good news for the area.

There was the recognition that mental health needs to be prioritised and promises of funds to change the dire experience so many have.

The cuts to business rates for small businesses are also encouraging as is the promise of a new fund to transform town centres, which I want to see our area bidding for.

Again, it is badly needed.

We must, of course, keep in mind that none of this will be deliverable if the government leaves the EU with a bad deal or without any deal at all.

But while that is up in the air, the Budget announced this week deserve qualified support and that is what I will give it.

On universal credit, I am desperately worried that the government has refused my call in parliament to halt the roll out of the new system which is timed to kick in just before Christmas. That could mean many families being plunged into hardship or financial turmoil just when they need cash for the festive period.

Cuts to universal credit mean it provides less help than it was originally designed for and there are fears that the UK is facing a rising tide of in-work poverty.

I know that local community leaders are as worried as me about the potential for a Christmas hardship crisis – and that is why I have arranged for a special meeting to be held in Barrow town hall tomorrow at 9am.

Invitations have been extended to your local councillors and to other key stakeholders so we can make sure everyone is as joined up as possible and working to minimise the damage that could be inflicted.

We must do everything we can to stop families being made destitute at Christmas.