Now we face a decade of national renewal - Ian Murray

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves. Photo by Leon Neal/Getty ImagesChancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves. Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves. Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images
The first Budget of a Labour Government in 14 years. Unveiled by the first female Chancellor in history. The chance to turn the page on over a decade of decline under the Conservatives and the SNP.

The first Budget of a Labour Government in 14 years. Unveiled by the first female Chancellor in history. The chance to turn the page on over a decade of decline under the Conservatives and the SNP.

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The Chancellor had no small task. The inheritance from the previous Conservative Government was grim. A decade of low growth. Public services on their knees. The disastrous mini-budget. A £22 billion black hole in the public finances confirmed by the OBR.

The independent Office for Budget responsibility saying “ the previous government did not provide the OBR with all the [available] information to them” and - had they known about these “undisclosed spending pressures that have since come to light” then their Spring Budget forecast for spending would have been “materially different”.

And the situation in Scotland is no better, with 17 years of managed decline and a fiscal black hole under the SNP.

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It will take time to undo 14 years of damage. But undo it we will. We’ve done it before, in 1945 after the Second World War, when we founded the NHS and the welfare state, and in 1997 after the long and brutal Thatcher years.

This Budget heralds a new era for Scotland. With a new government making the right choices, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

We will rebuild the public realm. Through the Barnett Formula, Scotland will receive an extra £1.5 billion this year and £3.4 billion next year for schools, the NHS and other public services. It is the largest budget settlement for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution.

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But the SNP must not simply use this extra funding to cover up their buy now, pay later policies. I want to see this money reach the front line, to bring waiting lists down and lift attainment in education.

The Triple Lock will be protected too, with the State Pension being uprated by over 4 per cent next year. And there will be a 6.7 per cent increase to the minimum wage, which will deliver a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest paid Scots.

Furthermore, the Budget confirmed £1.4 billion for local growth projects across Scotland, to create jobs and boost growth over the next 10 years.

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We promised no return to austerity – a promise made and kept.

No Chancellor wants to raise taxes. But with the public finances in such a dire state, there’s no other option. Unlike the Conservatives and the SNP, we will not make unfunded tax cuts or spending commitments.

But, under the plans announced today, the heaviest burden will fall on those with the broadest shoulders. We’ll abolish the non-dom tax regime, crack down on tax avoidance and increase taxes on oil and gas profits.

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As promised, taxes on working people will not go up and VAT, income tax and employees’ National Insurance contributions will stay the same.

Nevertheless, to fix the foundations, we need to invest for the future too.

Politics is about priorities. With this Budget, we have made our priorities clear: stability over chaos, investment over decline, public services over more austerity. There are no quick fixes, but today, the work of change began.

Ian Murray Edinburgh South MP and Secretary of State for Scotland

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