Nigel Farage ‘delighted’ to save ‘more than £1 a week’ on beer after Budget

UK Reform leader Nigel Farage said he was “particularly thrilled” that the conscription duty change would save him “more than £1 a week” on beer.

Mr Farage also said Chancellor Rachel Reeves had positioned herself as “steward of the nation’s fund” as a result of Wednesday’s Budget, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey warned voters may lack a “sense of hope, urgency and promises to deal fairly.”

Mr Farage told the House of Commons: “Invest, invest, invest – that’s what we heard at the start of the Budget speech and I thought, ‘Yes, that’s what we need, absolutely.’

“Not just the big multinationals that come to smart conferences, but, you know, hundreds of thousands of people are putting their own risk capital into startups, into new businesses, but no.

“This investment, investment, investment will be made by the Chancellor on our behalf and she will not just be the Bank of England’s lead economist, but she will now be the country’s fund manager, investing the money and trying to pick the winners. »

The MP for Clacton in Essex added: “I really think it’s wrong to pick winners.

“I think we’ll leave it up to the free market and let people either make money or let them lose money, and frankly, you know, if they do lose their money, well, that’s just how these things work.” “

Asked by Labor MP Sarah Owen (Luton North) whether he “would prefer to get investment from maybe the Russian government” rather than Westminster, Mr Farage suggested that “one or two members of the House would just You should grow up.”

He previously told MPs: “I think the decision to put money into potholes was a smart one, the fuel duty freeze is very, very welcome, particularly for those living in rural areas of our country, but for me of course the most important decision is 1 pence per year. a pint of draft beer, which I’ve found will save me over £1 a week, so I’m particularly excited about that.”

While alcohol duty rates on bulk products will increase in line with retail price index inflation, draft duty will be reduced by 1.7%, reducing the cost of a pint in the pub by a penny.

Sir Ed said: “People were looking for a break from the failures of the last few years from this Budget, with a sense of hope, urgency and the promise of a fair deal.

“But I am afraid that the budget will not provide all this.

“The Conservatives have left behind a huge mess of our NHS, but I fear it will not be fixed unless the government gets social care right too.

“The cost of living crisis will not be solved by hitting families, retirees, family farms and struggling small businesses, and our economy will not grow strong again unless we repair our damaged relationship with Europe.”

Sir Ed, who himself is a carer for his disabled son John, accused Labor of “ignoring the elephant in the NHS waiting room – the social care crisis” and not having a “long-term solution for social care”.

On wages and taxes, he said: “When it comes to the cost of living, I welcome the increase in the national minimum wage, although I urge the Chancellor to extend these higher wages to apprentices as well, but this is very worrying.” to see the Chancellor repeat a number of Tory mistakes today.

“Increasing National Insurance for employers is a tax on jobs and on people.”

Employers’ national insurance contributions will rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15%, the Chancellor has said.

She also announced a 6.7% increase in the minimum wage for over-21s, from £11.44 to £12.21.