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A leading MP on the environment, food and rural affair committee has praised Labour's 2009 Budget for having the "confidence to invest in recovery".
David Lepper (Lab/Co-op, Brighton Pavilion) stated that the government had to act now to prevent further costs in the long term.
He welcomed the chancellor's focus on jobs and support for employment, highlighting the offer of free job training or work placement for all 18 to 24-year-olds who are unemployed for over 12 months.
Alistair Darling's Budget support for investment in growth industries of the future was also praised.
Lepper stated: "Building on the support already coming through – from an income tax and VAT cut – the measures in the budget will help us deal with the economic difficulties and support jobs families, business and the environment."
But the Labour MP criticised the "do-nothing" Conservatives for their approach to the economy.
"In the 1980s, year after year under a Tory government, I saw youngsters leaving school with no job to go to and whose parents or older brothers and sisters were also out of work," he said. "We must not let this happen again."
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd