April 2007
I suppose Budget Day is the most dramatic day in the whole Parliamentary calendar. This year was no different with MPs arriving early to claim their seats.
My day began quite early – with my daily swim in a nearby indoor pool before 8.00 am, then two hours in the office catching up on emails, then a series of interviews to appoint a committee specialist for the Welsh Affairs Committee.
The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, in presenting what looks to be the last of his ten budgets, was in fine form. Politics apart – I admit to being an admirer and keen supported of his – he is undoubtedly a remarkable Parliamentary performer.
He announced that spending on public services is to set to increase with spending on education rising to its highest ever level. This will be good news for schools and confirms that education remains Labour's number one priority.
And there was good news for hardworking families as well with more help with the costs of bringing up children.
Child Benefit will rise over the next three years to £20 a week. In 1997 Child Benefit was just £575 a year. Now, under plans announced by Gordon Brown, Child Benefit will be over £1,000 a year by 2010.
Labour passionately believes that every child deserves the best possible start. Gordon Brown announced an increase in the child element of the Child Tax Credit by £150 per year.
On top of this, Gordon Brown was able to announce he was cutting the basic rate of income tax from 22 pence to 20 pence from April 2008.
The contribution of those who have built our country and raised families in the past was also recognised in the Budget. Increases in pensioners' tax allowance will take 600,000 pensioners out of paying income tax altogether, as we move forward to restore the earnings link for the basic state pension.
The adult rate of the National Minimum Wage will be raised to £5.52 per hour and an increase in the Working Tax Credit, along with a new initiative with the major retailers will help more people find jobs and employment in the future.
For me Budget day was a special day for other reasons. I attended a very moving commemoration of the abolition of slavery at the Wales Office at which the Secretary of State, Peter Hain, and my friend Harry Earnest, a great-grandson of a slave, spoke.
And then at the end of the day I attended the launch of a book by my friend Kenneth Morgan on the life of Michael Foot, a politician and writer I greatly admire. I was especially pleased that Michael, now 93 years old, was able to be present. It was a great way to end an historic day.
