FOLLOWING the noise surrounding the Budget, there is a need for calm reflection. There has been plenty of screaming from the very wealthy and their friends in the media.

This was a serious Budget that began to address the mess left by the Conservatives. It moved resources to stabilise and support our vital public services, it supported the lowest paid workers in our society and it began the process of investment and renewal that will move our economy to higher growth. As Rachel Reeves has said, those with the broadest shoulders will just need to pay a bit more.

To hear some of the recent budget commentary, you would think that the world was about to end. ‘The end of the family farm’ scream some people. In fact, 40 per cent of Agricultural Property Relief was claimed by the largest seven percent of landowners and the vast majority of farms will actually be unaffected by the new rules. For a couple passing on their farm, the value of relief can be as high as £3million and any liability after that can be paid interest-free over a ten-year period. Before 1984, there was no APR at all and the world didn’t cave in.

Then there are those who predict a mass exodus of children from private schools to state schools following the introduction of VAT on fees. Private school fees have increased by 75 percent in real terms since 2000 and there has been hardly any change in the numbers attending during that period, so that prediction seems highly unlikely to come true. It’s also clearly more important that the 93 percent of children who are educated in state schools, have improved provision, which this measure will help to pay for.

The very wealthiest in our society have been enjoying a whole series of tax breaks reserved just for them, and now that the Labour government is seeking to close these and bring money back into public sector investment, there are howls of anguish. It is notable that the MP for Skipton and Ripon has chosen to join in with this easy chorus, instead of defending the interests of the majority of people in his constituency.

The new Labour government really is fixing the foundations and our country is finally moving in the right direction.

Malcolm Birks Skipton

(Mr Birks fought the Skipton and Ripon seat for Labour in the general election).