The Member of Parliament for Winchester and Chandler’s Ford has given his backing to the Chancellor’s 2021 Budget, with Steve’s constituents will benefit from whole host of tax cuts and investment across the board.
Steve says; “People ask me all the time that they want more spending for things in the constituency, in Winchester and Chandler’s Ford and across the county. Without a stronger economy for the British people, there is no public spending. That was the basis of the Chancellor’s statement today and I’m really pleased with this.
“It was a very strong speech from the Chancellor – a realistic speech from the Chancellor – and he ended by saying this; ‘Government has limits, it’s not always about what is the Government going to do, it’s about the Government enabling.’ That was the thread that ran through the Budget.”
The MP continued on, highlighting some of the areas are will have a positive impact on many of his constituents;
- The Universal Credit taper rate will be cut by 8% no later than 1 December, bringing it down from 63% to 55% - allowing claimants to keep more of the payment. A £2bn tax cut for low-income families.
- Changes to duty on alcohol including;
- The planned rise in the duty on spirits, wine, cider and beer being cancelled
- A simplification of alcohol duties will see the number of rates drop from 15 to six
- The lower duty on draught beer and cider from containers over 40 litres will cut the rate by 5%
- Confirmation business rates to be retained and reformed, with a 50% discount for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors in England in 2022-23, up to a maximum of £110,000
- Flights between airports in the UK nations will be subject to a new lower rate of Air Passenger Duty from April 2023
- Confirmation that the 0.7% UK aid target will return in 2024/25, as the economy returns to health.
- New swathe of NHS funding taking total spending from £133bn at the start of the Parliament, to £177bn by the end.
Among welcoming these commitments and changes, Mr Brine praised Rishi Sunak’s report on inflation saying; “The inflation figures were sobering, but I’m glad to know he [Rishi Sunak] is on top of that and he’s very much pushing the bank [The Bank of England] on their mandate because the public sector pay rises we heard about today can’t lead to inflation because that will hurt working people.”
More detail on all of the polices mentioned above along with the other many changes can be found below, via Gov.UK;
