Thanet's two Tory MPs have pleaded with the Chancellor not to exclude the isle from Budget plans to boost small businesses.

George Osborne confirmed earlier that start-up companies will be exempt from £5,000 worth of National Insurance payments for the first 10 workers. However, the incentive will not apply to businesses based in London or the South East.

Roger Gale, the MP for North Thanet, pictured below, said Thanet should not be treated like more affluent parts of the region and will make "immediate representations" to government after speaking to Laura Sandys, his South Thanet counterpart.

He said: "I hope the Treasury will recognise that, in London and the South East, Thanet still has the highest levels of social deprivation at figures that compare with the North East.

"It would be quite wrong to exclude Thanet from the job creating measures announced by the Chancellor and to exclude local private sector employers from a very sensible package.

"The Trade Secretary and the Chancellor need to take on board our very peculiar and special local needs."

Mr Gale praised the contents of the Budget, which includes a rise in the rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent next year, and claimed Mr Osborne had faced "the most difficult and unpleasant inheritance of any Chancellor within historical memory".

Mr Gale said: "He has reacted with the national interest at the forefront of his mind.

"We'll all feel the pain but while the rise in VAT will impact upon every household, the wealthier will pay more than those less well off because children's clothes and food - the priorities of those on lower incomes - will rightly remain exempt."

For more reaction to the Budget, visit our Kent Business website.

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