Budget fails to deliver for the Borders - Moore
April 22, 2009 3:30 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Reacting to today's Budget, local MP Michael Moore said that it fails to deliver the measures needed to help people in the Borders through the recession.
Speaking immediately after the Chancellor's statement, Mr Moore said:Michael Moore MP
"The Chancellor has failed to deliver any of the measures that are needed to help people across the Borders who are struggling in the face of the recession. His dire forecasts for the economy still look optimistic compared to independent assessments, so we can expect things to get worse in the coming months.
"With lower than average wages in the Borders, we needed to see tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes. Liberal Democrat proposals would put £700 back into the pockets of the vast majority of Borders families. There was a lot more that could have been done to raise money from the wealthiest and clamp down on tax avoidance - all that money should be used to cut taxes for the majority.
"We also needed to see a fuel duty discount scheme for rural areas. A car is a necessity here, and a lower rate of duty would have reflected that. Instead we will see rises in fuel duty across the board without any relief in remote and rural areas.
"This Budget will do very little to create jobs. He should have reversed the VAT cut and put the £8 billion still available into housing and green jobs. The Chancellor had an opportunity to give practical help to people in the Borders struggling in the face of recession - it is deeply disappointing that he failed to take it."
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