Budget 2008 – Building a Sustainable Economy
Today Alistair Darling delivered his first Budget as Chancellor – it wasn’t flashy or aimed toward the headlines. It was a solid, sustainable budget for turbulent times.
There are economic difficulties world-wide, with inter-bank lending getting tighter as a result of America’s own lending crisis. The UK isn’t isolated from the rest of the world – we’re going to be affected by what happens elsewhere. We’ve seen the results of that in Newcastle with the problems at Northern Rock, but overall we’ve come through the past year well.
In the Budget statement it was announced that the North East is the region with the fastest growing economy in England. The measures taken by the Chancellor last week will ensure that inflation stays low, and the North’s economy can continue to flourish.
The Budget was good for families, with both Child Benefit and the Child Tax Credit going up significantly – a boost for some 30,000 families in Newcastle.
And Child Benefit will now operate independent of Housing or Council Tax Benefit, putting more money back in the pockets of low-income families, and making it easier for parents to get into work where they can.
The other key target in the Budget was climate change. Fighting global warming is the biggest challenge for Government over the coming years. It’s going to be a long and difficult road, and this was just one more step, but we are heading in the right direction.
The Chancellor is making it financially sensible for people to drive low-polluting cars, without putting blanket penalties on all drivers, and has set ambitious targets for making public buildings non-carbon, as well as providing further funding for Local Authorities to do their bit for the region.
This was a sustainable budget – sustainable both for the economic well-being of Newcastle, and for the environmental well-being of the planet.
