We have witnesses Alistair Darling’s first budget statement today and having watched it all it struck me how very little new there was in it. Nowadays, it seems many of the measures that used to be in the budget are pre-announced, foreshadowed in earlier budgets or simply leaked in advance. For example, it was no surprise today when the Chancellor announced the 2p per litre increase in petrol duty was now to take place in October of this year because it had been heavily trailed in all the weekend newspapers.
There was little in the budget to help hard pressed families who are struggling to make ends meet and in fact as a result of the measures in the budget most families will probably find it even harder to make ends meet. I noticed the Chancellor did not mention the fact that for millions of taxpayers across the country, thousands of whom are in Bury who earn less than £18,000 a year they will see their income cut from this April due to the abolition of the 10p rate of tax.
Last Friday I accompanied Councillor Sheila Magnall to the Tiddlywinks nursery in Ramsbottom where the children were raising funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children by taking part in an attempt to break the World Record for the largest simultaneous poetry reading. The children and staff had worked extremely hard in preparing for the event with all the children and staff in fancy dress based around the Peter Pan theme. My congratulations go all involved.
I attended the Ramsbottom, Tottington and North Manor Local Area Partnership meeting on Monday evening. Last night I went down to a cold and wet Gigg Lane to watch Bury notch up their third consecutive win 3-0 against my home town team of Rotherham. Revenge for the reverse earlier in the season at Millmoor. Andy Bishop is in excellent form and the whole team is clearly much more confident now they have a few wins under their belts.
David Nuttall 