Richard Baum

I was deeply disapointed with much of today’s budget. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has called it a green cop out which kicks the difficult decisions on environmental taxes into the long grass and offers no help to the millions of hard pressed families struggling to make ends meet. And I agree with him. 

Once again I am disappointed that the government have failed to go far enough on green measures. They’ve not done anywhere near enough to address unjust inequalities becoming endemic in society. And they’ve gone nowhere on helping the famlilies like ones here in Prestwich who are feeling the pinch from rising bills. 

Labour have bottled it. 

Unlike Liberal Democrat proposals for a Green Tax Switch, the money raised from environmental taxes will not be given back to families in the form of other tax cuts, but instead be taken by the Government to fill its black hole.  

There are some good bits – the review of road tax, for instance. But it doesn’t go far enough, and it isn’t happening quickly enough. Why not now, and why not more? Investing money to investigate road pricing is good news. But, again, it’s half-baked, and where is the carrot to go with this stick? Will the review talk about road pricing as a replacement for fuel duty and excise duty, or yet another revenue-grab? 

Some of the housing measures sound good too. Giving key workers more opportunities to borrow is a good idea. But the government’s track record in providing affordable homes is woeful, and this misses the mark again by failing to talk about more sustainable and affordable housing. 

This was an opportunity to give whatever help possible to millions of stretched British families who are feeling the pinch whose money just doesn’t go as far as it used to. But the opportunity has been wasted. The budget gives only limited help to the poor, but maintains special treatment for the rich. 

Where is the much needed reform to a tax credit system that is confused and unhelpful? Where are the environmental measures needed to make Britain a global leader in fighting climate change? Where is the innovation to respond to these challengnig times? 

Lib Dems believe that Green taxes should be revenue-neutral. They should not be treated as a wheeze to squeeze ever more money out of the British people, but should instead be designed to encourage green behaviour, and to cut the taxes of the most needy. But the government miss the point and do the opposite.    

This is not a budget for the environment. It’s a budget driven by fiscal incompetence and political desperation. 

Why has Alistair Darling not had the guts to claw back the huge profits made by energy companies, thanks to the emissions permits that the Government has given them for free? 4.5 million people still live in fuel poverty and the Government’s 2010 fuel poverty target has been conveniently forgotten by ministers.  The increased in Wunter Fuel Payment sounds great, but trying to grab headlines by increasing it for just one year will do nothing to help poor pensioners in the long run. Surely this is the time to compel all energy companies to introduce real, fair, social tariffs for all vulnerable people, not just those on pre-paid meters? 

This budget gives no real help to families struggling with higher food bills, higher energy bills and higher debt repayments. 

A disappointment and an opportunity missed. And, more than that, a steadfast refusal from the government to admit that its mistakes and poor fiscal management have led to an over-taxed nation on the bring of serious economic turmoil. 

Rick