Darling stakes everything on an early end to recession
Apr 23 2009 By Adrian Pearson, The Journal
James Ramsbotham, North East Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said the measures announced yesterday were just not good enough.
He said: "Alistair Darling promised a lean, mean and green Budget focused on job creation but today’s Budget lacked any blockbuster initiatives that will make a substantial difference. However, it did contain a raft of potential opportunities for the North East to capitalise upon".
He added that the North East had a "real and credible case" to be at the forefront of efforts to pilot carbon capture and storage.
He said: "The challenge now is for the North East to get fully behind these and other energy projects, including through skills development and proactive planning support, to ensure Government has every reason to focus a substantial part of this investment in our region.
"But it is the nuts and bolts of Alistair Darling’s speech where we feel he could and should have gone further.
"There was no room in the Budget for a short-time working directive and no space for re-instating the staff hire concession."
Blaydon Labour MP Dave Anderson, a former union leader, said it was only right those earning more than others should take the tax increase.
He said: "There is a reality here that we are in the biggest global downturn in the last half century and it is right that we borrow to help us out of that.
"We cannot do what previous Governments did in the last two recessions and just sit back, we have to act to help us out of this recession and if part of that is a tax increase for those earning the most then so be it."
But Berwick Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith said there was very little in the Budget for the region to be glad of.
Sir Alan said: "The Chancellor has failed to take the steps which could have helped the economy especially in the North.
"Instead of continuing the VAT cut he could have been creating jobs in building social housing, improving the transport system and insulating homes, schools and hospitals.
"He could have gone much further in shifting the burden on taxation to the highest incomes so that people on lower incomes had more money to spend on essentials.
"This recession is hitting the North hard, and the Budget is failing to give us the help we need."
