It seems that the Labour Government have got it into their heads that the way to tackle binge drinking is to slap a massive tax hike on all types of alcohol, despite the fact that the whisky industry is already taxed significantly more heavily than beer and cider, and also despite the fact that those who indulge in binge drinking rarely do so with a bottle of Speyside single malt.

Needless to say, Labour MPs have subsequently voted for the tax measure, despite several of their MSP colleagues in Scotland being opposed to the tax level.

These Scottish Labour MPs may be the Chancellor's little darlings, but people involved in the whisky industry will be furious that, on yet another crucial issue, Scottish Labour MPs have betrayed the national interest.

Last month they surrendered control over our fishing industry to Europe, and now they have rubber stamped the Chancellor's smash and grab raid on the whisky industry.

The whisky sector is one of Moray's and Scotland's key industries both in export, earnings and employment terms, and this tax increase will undermine future investment and competitiveness as well as damaging international trading conditions.

This is not a tax to tackle the menace of binge drinking, but simply an easy target to prop up the budget.

The same principle applies to fuel tax, where increasing the tax take penalises those in rural Scotland who do not have an option but to use a car. Again this is simply not in the interests of people in Scotland, and I believe we continue to suffer from a policy focused on London and the South-east.

For people in rural Moray the choice between a car or a bus or train is not a simple one. Indeed, many may have to drive several miles to be able to reach a location where they can access public transport. Continually raising fuel tax does not stop people having to drive in areas like Moray. Instead, it reduces their quality of life as their household budget gets further hammered.

This budget policy is discriminatory, and instead of increasing people's choice of transport it reduces their access to basic services.

All in all we have seen a budget that is bad for Moray and a ridiculous dispute between Labour MSPs who oppose the tax and Scottish Labour MPs who probably also oppose the tax but are not prepared to vote against the budget.

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