CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday cut beer duty by a penny a pint and reduced the tax on spirits and cider by two per cent, hoping voters would toast an election-winning budget.

He also froze the levies on fuel, wine and tobacco, although a planned two per cent rise above inflation goes ahead and that means 16p on the price of 20 cigarettes.

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Mr Osborne also announced new measures to help first-time buyers and take the low paid out of tax.

East Lancashire’s brewers Thwaites and Moorhouses welcomed the cut in beer duty which Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans described as “sensational”.

A key part of Mr Osborne’s sixth budget and last before the May 7 General Election was a raft of measures to help savers and pensioners.

He is relaxing pension rules from April 2016 to allow five million existing pensioners to swap their fixed annual payments for cash.

Tax changes aimed at helping savers included annual limits for ISAs increased to £15,240 and the creation of flexible ISAs.

Mr Osborne said these would mean 95 per cent would pay no tax on their cash savings if the Conservatives won the election.

He also announced a new help-to-buy ISA which will see the government add £50 to every £200 first-time buyers put away towards a deposit.

Pendle Tory MP Andrew Stephenson said this would help young families onto the housing ladder and kick-start the property market across East Lancashire.

The Chancellor raised the threshold for paying tax to £10,800 next year.

Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said this was “brilliant news” fulfilling the Lib Dems’ 2010 election promise to lift millions of people out of tax altogether.

Mr Osborne also announced an above inflation rise to £43,300 by 2017 for the the higher 40p tax rate.

The third annual cut of a penny a pint in beer duty delighted Mr Evans, chairman of the Parliamentary All-Party Beer Group.

He said: “ Its good for brewers, especially with Thwaites moving to the Ribble Valley, drinkers and pubs.”

Managing director of Burnley’s Moorhouses David Grant also welcomed “good news for the brewing industry”.

Andrew Buchanan, director of pubs at Blackburn’s Thwaites, said: “It’s great news that the Chancellor has cut beer duty for the third consecutive year.”

“We will be passing on 100 per cent of duty savings to our customers.”

Blackburn Labour MP Jack Straw said: “This is the most political budget I have ever seen.”