The Budget has confirmed victory for Liberal Democrats in our campaign to deliver an £800 tax cut for people on low and middle incomes.

Cutting income tax by £700 – by raising the tax-free allowance to £10,000 – was the top priority on the front page of the Liberal Democrat 2010 manifesto. That comes into effect next month.

The Budget today has confirmed that the tax-free threshold will rise to £10,500 next year, giving a tax cut of £800 for 25 million working people since 2010.

Liberal Democrat policy is to continue to increase the threshold in the next Parliament to £12,500.

The Budget also includes:

• A boost for apprentices
• A fuel duty freeze
• Giving people control over their pension savings – removing the need to be tied into annuities
• Help for savers – reducing tax on savings for people on low incomes and improving ISAs
• Help for small businesses
• Tax-free childcare worth up to £2,000 per child
• More measures to clamp down on tax avoidance