Budget 2015: Osborne hails "truly national recovery"

THE government’s economic plan is delivering growth and jobs, Chancellor George Osborne stressed today as he delivered the final budget of this government.

With the General Election so close, on May 7, Osborne was keen to paint a rosy picture for voters and there was plenty of political rhetoric in his speech as he reminded the Labour Party of its track record on the economy under the last government.

“The critical choice for British people is to return to the chaos of the past or go on working on a plan that is delivering,” he said.

“The sun is starting to shine and we are fixing the roof”, he proclaimed, as he hailed a “truly national recovery” and a country moving from “austerity to prosperity”.

Boosted by official employment figures which showed the number of people in work at an all-time high and average earnings rising too, he told a packed House of Commons that the economy in the North had grown faster than the south.

He asked: “Where is employment growing fastest? The North West. Where is a job being created every 10 minutes? The Midlands. And which county has created more jobs than the whole of France? The great county of Yorkshire. We are getting the whole of Britain back to work with a truly national recovery.”

On tax, he announced a further clampdown on banks’ earnings to raise £5bn, and said new rules on tax avoidance and evasion would raise £3.1bn in the next fiscal period.

He said the goal was to make Britain to be the most prosperous major economy in the world as he unveiled further funding for the Northern Powerhouse initiative to rebalance the UK economy by fuelling growth in cities such as Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.

Greater Manchester scored another win in regional devolution as the Chancellor revealed it could keep 100% of its business rate growth, while confirming a devolution deal for the Leeds City Region.

The West Midlands was not forgotten too, as Mr Osborne confirmed funding for a £60m energy research accelerator.

He said: “The Midlands is an engine of manufacturing growth. So we are today giving the go-ahead to a £60m investment in the new Energy Research Accelerator and confirming the new national energy catapult will be in Birmingham.”

In further populist moves 50 days ahead of the election, there was an increase in personal tax allowances from £10,600 to £11,000 and 1p cut in beer duty.

Furthermore a planned increase in fuel duty will be scrapped. Mr Osborne said this would save motorists £10 every time they fill up.

In response  Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed it was a “Budget they (the British people) won’t believe from a Government they don’t trust.”

Karen Campbell, North West head of tax at business advisors Grant Thornton described the budget as a “robust  pre-election statement”.

“The Chancellor’s populist measures, hardly a surprise given the deadlock in the polls, included the abolition of the tax return, replaced by a digital system.
 
“House builders will have been pleased with the extension of the Help to Buy scheme with an ISA to support first time buyers – for every £200 saved, the Government will top up with £50.
 
“The news that Greater Manchester will keep 100% of increase in local business rates is a great credit to Sir Howard Bernstein and the civic leadership.
 
“The Northern Powerhouse is a key measure and the transport strategy for the North is eagerly awaited.  It’s still small steps, not a firm pledge on the £15bn investment required. There’s also a case that the major infrastructure projects are being considered in the wrong order.  A Crossrail of the North might have do more for businesses  than HS2. It’s also true that the issue of linking Northern cities is not so much about speed, more about high frequency, high capacity and reliability.”
 
“Business groups had been lobbying the Chancellor over their own priorities – including a freeze or cut in air passenger duty, reductions in charges on North Sea energy firms and moves to use the tax system to encourage research and development.  They might well feel the Budget did nothing for them.”