Met with a shrug? MP responds to ‘middle-of-the-road’ budget
THE UK Government’s budget announcements will have been met with “something of a shrug” from islanders, according to Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael.
He described chancellor John Healey’s budget as a “fairly middle of the road affair” which was better than some “disasters” previously, but one that did not go far enough.
There was nothing Shetland specific in the announcement, which Healey said was a “budget for the working people of Britain”.
He did announce a £100 payment to reduce energy bills to those in council tax bands A to D in England and Wales, with funding headed to the Scottish Government to enable it to do the same.
The Scottish Government has since confirmed it plans to replicate the scheme, although deputy first minister Jenny Gilruth said it does not go far enough in terms of supporting people and their energy bills.
Carmichael added that efforts to decouple energy costs from volatile gas prices are “all to the good but will take time to deliver”.
“The abolition of gas standing charges is all very well for those who rely on gas, but does nothing for rural and island communities such as the Northern Isles,” he added.
“Extending the cut in VAT on electricity through to July is also welcome – but hardly life-changing for most families.”
The Lib Dem MP said where there are significant measures, on business rates or the money back on energy bills, these are largely left to the Scottish Government to decide what they do with the funds they have been given.
“Based on past performance I suspect the SNP will have to be dragged kicking and screaming to deliver a fair deal for rural communities,” Carmichael commented.
“Rural communities ought to be central to our country’s economic success – and that should be reflected in how the government crafts its budget.
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“Our farmers, fishermen, food producers and energy businesses all make a contribution that goes far beyond pounds and pence.
“If the chancellor is serious about tackling the cost of living and ‘good growth in every postcode’, then rural and island communities must be part at the heart of his thinking.”
The Scottish Government also said the budget amounts to a real-terms cut for Scotland of about £650 million in 2027/28.
Gilruth said: “It is also unacceptable that there was no announcement about ending wider austerity policies which are pushing families into poverty like the bedroom tax, the benefit cap and ‘young parent penalty’ in Universal Credit which would make a significant difference to tackling poverty.
“The chancellor had the opportunity to lift thousands more families out of poverty, and he has chosen not to.”
Elsewhere there was an extension of the 5p cut to fuel duty until the end of June, while the national minimum wage will rise by 3.9 per cent.
The draft Scottish budget is due to follow on 3 December.
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