David Mundell backs this year’s Budget

RURAL Clydesdale, and Scotland’s only Conservative MP, David Mundell has, perhaps understandably, backed this year’s Budget.

Among the key points of this year’s Budget, as revealed by Chancellor George Osborne, is the scrapping of a proposed 3p fuel duty rise, a 1p reduction in beer duty and the limit at which people start paying tax raised to £10,000 from next year.

Corporation Tax will be cut to 20 per cent while the Scottish Government will get an overall additional spending power of £176 million over the next two years.

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“The Government has taken decisive action to help local people and businesses by cancelling the planned fuel duty increase,” said Mr Mundell. “Petrol will now be 13 pence per litre cheaper than it was under Labour’s plans.

“The Budget represents the best possible deal for local people against the backdrop of a difficult economy and the massive burden of debt Labour left behind.

“Whilst not all the choices the Government are making are popular, the alternative of continuing to run up debt is unsustainable.

“This budget has balanced the need to keep public spending under control and help local people who are working hard to turn our economy around.”

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Taxpayers Alliance Chief Executive Matthew Sinclair welcomed the beer tax cut and the fuel duty freeze.

However, he added: “Unfortunately, the great limitation of this budget was that it relied far too much on complicated targeted reliefs instead of tax cuts across the board.

“Simpler, strategic tax reforms that reduce the overall burden would be fairer and do more to produce the stronger economy Britain needs.”