The Budget is a responsible budget, the Labour Opposition are not. (Kiron Reid)

The Budget is a responsible budget, the Labour Opposition are not.

June 23, 2010 2:20 PM

The Budget by the coalition is a responsible Budget, protecting the poorest workers, taking many of them out of income tax altogether, reversing some of Labour's unfair tax hikes and putting up capital gains tax for the well off. Stopping an increase in National Insurance - Labour's tax on jobs instead of simply taxing income more for the rich - is good but the capital gains tax and inheritance tax could have gone up more for the rich to claim back for society more unearned wealth. That would have been better than the increase in VAT across the board. I'm pleased the excessive taxes on alcohol (a tax imposed by well off professionals and Labour politicians as part of their social control) have been stopped for now.

It was not just the bankers but many people who have had their heads in the sand - a bonus culture for partners doing nothing in many companies, unsustainable public sector pensions, unaffordable perks in many transport businesses backed up by perpetual threat of strike action by irresponsible populist Unions to use the public as pawns. All of us who are better off can afford to lose a bit more and those who are paid for by the state and do not work can put something back for the society paying for them if they are able. Ignoring a crisis in out of control public spending will lead to worse problems in the future.

The Labour Party are appallingly irresponsible. They are behaving exactly the same as the Tories did when they lost in 1997 - in denial that they did anything wrong. Crazy. Refusing to recognise that they let the economy build up debt out of control; they let big business and big builders run wild with unviable projects, that they didn't get people off benefits and into jobs when the economy was going well, and they wanted to put up tax on jobs and waste billions on replacing nuclear weapons and nuclear power stations. Now they deny it is anything to do with them and retreat to childish class attacks. They will not be fit for Government for a very long time unless they don't just get a new intelligent young Leader but they face up to what they did wrong as well.

The quality of reporting of financial and budget issues by local press like the Liverpool Echo is appalling. Gone is any attempt to inform, educate, let alone lead; only scaremongering headlines and one-sided reporting. With this performance their influence will continue to decline.