ELLESMERE Port and Neston Andrew MP Miller gave the Chancellor’s autumn statement a mixed reaction.

While Mr Miller praised George Osbourne for scrapping a planned 3p fuel tax rise due in January after pressure from Labour, he criticised the rest of the statement.

Mr Miller said: “The scrapping of the proposed fuel duty rise is the only sensible move from a Government that has lost its way on finance.

“In the Autumn Statement we found out the true scale of David Cameron and George Osborne’s economic failure.

“They’re failing on jobs and growth, with the economy shrinking this year. As a result borrowing and debt figures have been revised up and the Government is set to borrow £212bn more than they planned two years ago, and they have admitted they are even failing on the one test they set themselves – to balance the books and get the debt down by 2015.

“People on low and middle incomes are paying the price for this failure.

“The Chancellor is imposing cuts in support for millions of struggling families on low and middle incomes both in work and out of work – with real terms cuts to tax credits, child benefit and out-of-work benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance.

“Instead of a change, of course, all we got was more of the same failing policies.”