As an avid follower of politics and a more than interested consumer and taxpayer I was naturally interested in seeing what George Osborne’s first Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer had in store.

Of course most of the measures that the Coalition Government have decided upon to try and reduce the UK debt burden had already been announced last Autumn and many are beginning to bite and hurt as we go about our day to day lives.

Only the other day, in fact just before the Budget, I filled the Clubman up with petrol and winced a little at paying £1.35p a litre. I must admit I still struggle to understand how any litres there are in a gallon but I know that the prices have risen significantly in recent months. Malcolm and I will definitely be going on longer walks and shorter car journeys!

I’m not sure what I expected Mr Osborne to announce as he clearly was stuck somewhere between a rock and a hard place but in the end I was left pleasantly surprised on a number of key points.

Mr Osborne announced increases in the personal income tax allowances that will help everyone and particularly the low paid in retaining more of their hard earned income.

He also announced a new scheme called Firstbuy Direct for first time buyers although this sounds very similar to the Home Buy Direct scheme that the previous Government introduced. I don’t think this is going to prove the elixir the property market would like to see but if it helps a few more people get on the housing ladder then it is surely a good thing.

As someone with a small investment portfolio of rented property, I was interested in hearing about the changes to stamp duty that would allow someone making a purchase of several properties to pay this tax on the average price of the properties to be purchased and not the total price. With stamp duty rising significantly in steps and now at 5% on a purchase over £1 million, this could produce quite a saving. My understanding is that if someone buys four properties at £250,000 each, then they would have had to pay 5% on the total price of £1 million. A hefty £50,000. Now they will only pay 1%, a saving of £40,000. It may not affect many people but it seems quite an attractive to me!

Of course, it was disappointing to hear Mr Osborne’s forecasts for the economy which included lower levels of growth. Unless the country can start growing then I fear that belt tightening will have to be the national pastime for some time to come. Lower rates of Corporation tax and some tax incentives for investment have been announced which will hopefully help companies in the months ahead.

Mr Osborne did pull one rabbit out of the hat though and, whilst it had been widely predicted that he would not be implementing a previously announced increase in fuel duty, he actually announced a cut of 1p. In addition the previous fuel duty accelerator increases were deferred for another 12 months.

As I walked past the garage the day after the Budget I noticed that the price of petrol had been reduced to £1.34p a litre. Malcolm and I hesitated and I smiled wryly to myself as we went on our way.

Come on Malcolm. Walkies!