Budget: Beer prices to rise by a penny
At half past twelve today Gordon Brown rose to give his ninth Budget, and it was an important one for the Labour Party. It has generally been assumed that Labour has had a faltering pre-election campaign, being out-witted by the Conservatives who have controlled the agenda. Labour MPs hope that his budget will provide the firing gun for a revival in their party's campaign. However, questions continue to be asked as to whether it will be Mr Brown's last as Chancellor.
Much of the speech was made up of the Chancellor's usual torrent of large and apparently meaningless figures being banded around. Having managed to sit through it all – and that's no mean feat - The Rundown is relieved to bring you this summary:
How it affects students
- First and foremost, there will be a 1p increase in the tax paid on a pint of beer and 4p on a bottle of wine from Sunday. Duty on cider, spirits and sparkling wine remains the same.
- Tax on a packet of cigarettes will rise by 7p.
- Income tax and national insurance remain unchanged.
- Petrol duty will not rise until September.
- Air passenger tax, which had been expected to rise, remains the same – importantly for budget airline travellers.
- There is to be a five-year programme to renovate and renew further education colleges worth £1.5 billion.
- A new national community service for young people to be created, with a £150m budget to recruit one million volunteers.
- The Home Office is to announce new plans to target young people at risk of causing crime.
Other news
- The threshold at which payment of stamp duty is to be paid will be doubled from £60,000 to £120,000, helping many first time homebuyers.
- Pensioners have been given a number of "sweeteners", seen by many as an attempt to woo the substantial "grey vote". Measures include a council tax refund of £200 and free local bus travel for off peak journeys, which many get already.
- As of next month, a "return to work" bonus of £2,000 will be available to single parents.
- New centres are to be created for people to get vocational training.
- No further assessment on UK entry into the euro in this Budget.
- New debt reduction deals are to be signed with poor countries in July.
- Brown says the economy is still in good shape, with the "longest period of economic growth since records began in 1701", growth as forecast and low inflation. Critics, however, remain concerned about the "black hole" in government finances – a tax rise may be likely for after the election.
Opponents' views
Conservative leader Michael Howard described it as a "vote now and pay later" budget, highlighting his party's accusation that if re-elected Labour will have to raise taxes to fill what appears to be a black hole in the public finances.For the Liberal Democrats, Charles Kennedy highlighted the apparent unfairness of the current taxation system, especially for pensioners. He went on to reiterate his party's flagship policy of replacing council tax with a new local income tax.
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