Glenn Goodall

So, it’s happened and the Coalition have put forwards their emergency budget. I’m sure we will hear countless Labour supports shouting “wont someone think of the children.”  But the facts are that after years of Labour rule they have left our country with a mountain of debt. Every minute gov’t has to spend an eye-watering £80,000 interest on the national debt racked up by Labour, that’s over £800 million a week. If action wasn’t taken now then the markets would force us into even more drastic measures as they have in Greece and Spain.

Look through the Budget and you will see key policies Liberal Democrats campaigned for being put into effect. Also, these measures will ensure that the burden of deficit reduction is shared fairly across society:

• The £1,000 increase in the Income Tax allowance will mean that 880,000 low paid workers will be freed from Income Tax altogether. This is the first step towards delivering the Lib Dem manifesto commitment to ensure no-one pays tax on the first £10,000 they earn.
• The Budget puts in place the Lib Dem promise of a new tax on banks, ensuring that they help to pay to clear up the mess left by the financial crisis.
• Top earners will pay a full 10% more in Capital Gains Tax than under Labour, with no loopholes or tapers or get-out clauses. That change helps ensure those with the broadest shoulders take the greatest strain.
• The Coalition will guarantee that pensioners get a fair deal, putting into effect the Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment for a “triple lock”, so state pensions rise every year in line with earnings, inflation, or by 2.5%, whichever is the highest. Never again will pensioners be allowed to fall behind.
• The Coalition Government will not let regions, towns or cities that depend heavily on the public sector be forgotten. That’s why this Budget establishes a regional growth fund to ensure those parts of the country get meaningful support to help create jobs and opportunities for all.
• Tackling Child Poverty remains at the heart of the government’s approach (something Labour did very little about). So while the Coalition have decided to cut child tax credits for those who can most afford it, they have increased tax credits for the poorest families and put up to £2 billion into child tax credits to help ensure children of all backgrounds get a fair start in life.

That said, I am not too happy about 20 % VAT but it has to happen, I guess. Likewise, I doubt many Labour supporters were very impressed with top-up fees when they were introduced!

Oh, and what happened to the £10,000 tax free allowance? Well, that little gem was always going to be staggered.

Honestly, I believe it’s better to have this Lib/Con Coalition gov’t in power than a Labour or Conservative minority government. They would have lost the budget and there would have been had another election. The Coalition can use the best ideas from two parties in order to tackle national debt, rather than have the same tired ideas from Labour.

Frankly, the economy is in a shocking state thanks to Labours mismanagement, and now it’s down to the Coalition to sort it out!

Harriet Harman asked the Lib Dems “how could they let down everyone who voted for them?” I am pretty sure that everyone in Labour knows too well how that is done…

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Update: See what WAS has to say on VAT.