PUTTING the next generation first. That was the key message of this year’s Budget which was delivered by the Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday.

And what is the Government doing to put the next generation first? We have created one of the strongest economies in the world thanks to our long-term economic plan.

We took the difficult decisions needed to pay down our debts and reduce the deficit so that this burden would not fall on to the next generation.

Secondly, we are getting more people into work and allowing them to keep more of the money they earn. In Swindon we have seen 8,300 more people get into work since 2010 and 91,136 people here have benefited from an income tax cut since 2010.

To further assist working people, we have frozen fuel duty for the sixth year in a row, a saving of £75 a year to the average driver and £270 a year to a small business with a van.

It is by supporting businesses we are helping to create these jobs. For small businesses, the Chancellor announced the Government will permanently double small business rate relief and increase the maximum threshold for relief, meaning 600,000 businesses will never pay business rates.

To ensure fairness, we are modernising our tax rules to close loopholes that have allowed international companies to reduce their tax burdens to almost zero.

Thirdly, we are introducing a Lifetime ISA to help the next generation to save.

People under 40 will no longer have to choose between saving for a first home or saving for retirement – the Government is going to give them money to do both.

For every £4 saved, the Government will give £1; meaning if you put in £4,000 a year, the Government will give you £1,000 every year until you’re 50.

And, finally, my highlight from the Budget was the pledge to double sports funding in primary schools and provide funds for longer school days in secondary schools so pupils are offered a wider range of activities.

This has been something that I have campaigned for tirelessly in Parliament and I am thrilled that serious steps are being taken to tackle childhood obesity and promote sport. The Chancellor made it clear we have to be prepared for the risks posed by an uncertain global economy.

However, thanks to our plan, we have an economy growing faster than any other major advanced economy in the world, a labour market delivering the highest employment in our history, and a deficit down by two-thirds and on course for a surplus. At the same time we’re cutting income tax for 31 million people and taking 1.3 million of the lowest-paid out of income tax.

This was a budget for the next generation. A budget to make Britain fit for the future.