Anneliese Dodds and Naz Sarkar, Labour candidates for Reading East and West respectively, have welcomed measures outlined in the budget to strengthen recovery, help first-time buyers and support green investment.
Key measures announced in the budget include:
- Nine out of ten first-time buyers to escape stamp duty for the next two years; to be paid for by increasing stamp duty on homes worth £1million or more from 4 to 5%
- A crackdown on tax avoidance by very high-earners
- £2billion to go into a 'green' investment fund to support projects like wind farms
- £4billion towards providing better equipment and logistics for troops in Afghanistan
- Measures to tackle the anti-social behaviour promoted by binge-drinking of 'extra strength' ciders.
Anneliese said: "Labour's policies have been hailed internationally as leading the fight against the global recession. The new predictions in the budget on the level of borrowing bear this out: £11billion has been shaved from predicted government borrowing for this year. Similarly, less is being paid out on unemployment benefit than was expected, as jobless figures improve more than was foreseen.
"Today's budget built on these improvements with targeted help to stimulate growth- supporting first-time homebuyers and green investment. This budget was never going to be an easy one in the current economic crisis, but Darling has struck the right note with a steady and well-targeted series of measures".
And Naz added: "This budget highlights the difference between the Conservatives and Labour. While our Chancellor has been clear on how he will start to reduce the deficit- with efficiency savings required in the civil service, for example- we have heard no detail from the Tories.
They have pledged to release an Emergency Budget after the General Election- but why can't they come clean now on their policies? The only pledge they have made is that they will cut public services quickly- even although bodies like the International Monetary Fund have suggested this will strangle growth".
And Anneliese and Naz issued a challenge today to their Conservative opponents to come clean now on their economic policies.
They stated: "Labour has released its budget today which offers costed and detailed proposals on how to place Britain back on the road towards sustainable growth. Yet the Tories have failed to offer the electorate any detail whatsoever concerning their fiscal plans.
We want both our Conservative opponents to treat the people of Reading with the respect they deserve, and actually spell out what their party would do in the areas of taxation and spending if elected.
We all know the Conservatives would help the 3,000 richest estates by cutting their inheritance tax- but what else would they do?".
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