JAMES SUPPORTS EMERGENCY BUDGET

 

James Duddridge, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, supports the emergency budget plans laid out yesterday by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

The Chancellor presented his first budget yesterday to a full House of Commons chamber. The budget included the following:

VAT will increase to 20 per cent on January 4th 2011, but the Budget makes no changes to items that are zero-rated.

Capital Gains Tax will be frozen for basic rate taxpayers and increased for higher earners. The Chancellor announced an increase in capital gains tax rate from 18 per cent to 28 per cent for higher rate and additional rate taxpayers. Basic rate taxpayers will continue to pay an 18 per cent rate on their gain.   

The personal income tax allowance will be increased by £ 1,000. The Chancellor said this will take 880,000 of the lowest income tax payers out of the tax and benefit 23 million taxpayers by up to £ 170 per year.

Fuel Duty will be frozen and options for a fair fuel stabiliser and a fuel duty discount will be considered for remote rural areas.

There is no increase to alcohol or tobacco duty and a planned increase in cider duty is reversed. 

Council tax will be frozen for one year in England in partnership with local authorities. 

Child benefit will remain universal, but will be frozen for three years.

Tax credit payments to families earning over £40,000 will be reduced next year. However, for lower rate taxpayers, the Government will increase the child element of the Child Tax Credit by £ 150 in 2010-11 and £ 60 in 2012-13 above indexation.  

Objective medical assessments will be introduced for all Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants

James said

“As the Chancellor stated yesterday, this budget is tough but fair. It is a decisive budget that deals with the record deficit the Government inherited from Labour. 

Labour left behind one of the largest budget deficits in Europe and thanks to their incompetence, we currently are borrowing one pound in every four we spend. This is increasing our national debt by £3 billion a week. 

It is now the job of the Government to make some unavoidable, tough decisions that the Governor of the Bank of England and the G20 called for and that Labour ducked. Everyone has to contribute, we are all in this together.

In clearing up Labour’s mess we will protect the most vulnerable. It is fairness that underpins the Budget.

In addition, as well as paying the bills of the past this budget starts planning for the future.”