|
Today
I presented my first Budget called Stability and
opportunity: building a strong, sustainable future.
Economic stability will always be Labour's first
priority. The core purpose of this Budget is stability -
now and in the future. Its core values are fairness and
opportunity, founded on stability and strength.
The investment the Labour Government has made has
supported many people in realising their potential. By
maintaining a strong and stable economy we have been
able to invest in our public services after years of
underinvestment.
Today the global slowdown means we face uncertain
economic times. The turbulence in the American mortgage
market has touched economies all over the world -
including ours. But here in Britain we are better
placed than other countries and better placed than we
ever were in the past to deal with this.
The Budget reports that the economy is resilient, and
continuing to grow. The Government is meeting its strict
fiscal rules for the public finances. This is a
responsible Budget to secure Britain's stability in the
face of global uncertainty.
In particular, the Budget focuses on tackling two of
the big issues of today - child poverty and climate
change -alongside continuing investment in education and
providing extra help for pensioners. I am proud to
announce key measures to:
• help lift 250,000 children out of poverty on our
path to eradicating all child poverty;
• build a low carbon Britain by giving incentives
for people to make green choices;
• an extra £200 million invested over the next
three years to bring forward Labour's ambition for no
school to have fewer than 30 per cent of its pupils achieving five
A*-C grades at GCSE;
•give an extra boost of £50 to over 60's
households and £100 for over 80's households on top of the
Winter Fuel Payment, benefiting nine million pensioner
households.
Labour's choice: Fairness and opportunity for
everyone in Britain to secure a strong, sustainable
future.
If you would like to find out
more about what we have announced today, click here
to visit the HM Treasury website, click here to read my statement to
the House or if you have a question or a point you would
like to raise, click here
to put your question to me.
Best wishes
Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
 |
