We're doooomed!

Dire warnings from the Pink 'un this morning: Brutal choices over British deficit. One passage in particular should give pause for thought. Using government figures the FT calculates that a new government would need to do the following in order to save £30-40 billion from the budget (necessary to halve the budget deficit by 2014):

• a 5 per cent cut in public sector pay;
• freezing benefits for a year;
• means-testing child benefit;
• abolishing winter fuel payments and free television licences;
• reducing prison numbers by a quarter;
• axing the two planned aircraft carriers;
• withdrawing free bus passes for pensioners;
• delaying Crossrail for three years;
• halving roads maintenance;
• stopping school building;
• halving the spending on teaching assistants and NHS dentistry;
• cutting funding to Scotland and Wales by 10 per cent.

Thought I'd save the best for last there! Abandon ship!

Poll results: Rate Darling's budget

A - Magnificent 0 votes
B - Mighty fine 0
C - Middling 0
D - Meagre 0
E - Moribund 3
F - Murphy 15

So 15 out of 18 voters thought the budget was terrific...only kidding! I think we can safely assume that visitors to Brigadoon were unimpressed with Darling's (mis-)calculations. I just wish I'd added Mendacious as a category...

Budget? Fudge it.

Lots on the budget elsewhere so I've just added a poll on the right hand side for you all to rate Darling's efforts.

A few quick thoughts:

The £2000 car discount. As expected they had to come up with some nonsense scheme that will apply to approximately 7 people. My money was on grants for geothermally powered lawnmowers but hey ho, you win some you lose some.

New top rate tax. A broken manifesto commitment (see SNP Tactical Voting for a good discussion thereon) and completely ineffective as the rich will either sneak around it or leave for greener pastures elsewhere. Sheer populism.

Fuel duty up. Disproportionate impact on rural areas (which tend to be poorer already). And will inevitably make everything that gets transported anywhere, i.e. everything, more expensive.

Alcohol duty up. Hard to square this with Labour's crticism of the SNP's policy - apparently that was flawed as the poor would pay proportionally more. And a blanket rise in duty does what exactly...?

Enough for now, go read the FT if you're still hungry ;o)