Millions suffer a raw deal

THE Budget may have offered a boost to the health service and families, but manufacturers, savers and workers trying to build a decent pension were left out in the cold.

The British Chambers of Commerce accused the Chancellor of taking business competitiveness 'a step backwards'. Not only did he land employers with a swingeing hike in National Insurance bills, but, say manufacturers, he failed to offer any meaningful support.

'He missed an ideal opportunity to help the manufacturing sector,' said Rayner Peett, of accountant Ernst & Young. 'This is a sector that needs support, but what we saw was gimmickry. Gordon Brown also did nothing for savers - already suffering from low interest rates - by neglecting to raise ISA allowances.

Nor did he help people struggling to save for their old age and facing the wholesale closure of generous final-salary pension plans.

Indeed, the increase in employees' National Insurance will make it harder for workers on modest incomes to set aside money for a pension - undermining the Government's own stakeholder plan.