The Budget - political implications
Alistair Darling’s first Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer got off to a flyer. He managed to keep the contents of his speech under wraps and he didn’t lose any important data in the run up to the big day. Given the government’s recent track record of keeping tabs on sensitive information, Darling’s achievement must make him the current golden boy of the Labour Party.
Not that secrecy really mattered in this instance. The Budget was so predictable that you didn’t need X-ray vision to have a good idea what was inside the red-briefcase. It wasn’t the most notable Budget you’ll ever hear but the chancellor might be satisfied with that given its billing as a ‘Bad News Budget’.
Stability
There were no theatrics in what was a very transparent Budget focused on stability. Darling just came out and confirmed what financial experts already knew – lower-than-predicted growth and lower tax revenues. Compared to Gordon Brown, who had a reputation for ‘pulling a rabbit out of his hat,’ Darling played a very straight bat.
The top-line news from the chancellor’s first Budget came as no surprise. He targeted drinkers, smokers and drivers of ‘gas-guzzling’ cars. Politically, they represent perfect candidates to take the brunt of tax hikes. Tackling the binge-drinking problem and environmental issues are high on the government’s agenda and boosting tax on cigarettes will never get a chancellor a bad press. But despite his efforts, the chancellor came under fire from the opposition parties for bottling it on key issues.
Darling announced plans to introduce a new ‘showroom tax’ for drivers of heavy-polluting vehicles but then revealed he planned to delay a 2p increase in fuel duty from April to October. The Green Party and the Lib Dems picked him up on this claiming that his Budget was an environmental cop out.
Con Trick Budget
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said: "This is not a green Budget. This is not a people's Budget. This is a con trick Budget that protects the rich and abandons the poor. The government has bottled it on green taxes and failed to implement the necessary measures to cut child poverty."
The Green Party's principal speaker, Caroline Lucas MEP, echoed Clegg’s criticism. She said: “This Budget isn't Green, it's Brown. After spinning extensively that we were going to see the most environmental Budget ever, the government have given us more of the same. Under pressure from road lobbyists, he has backed down on the already timid 2p rise in fuel duty, putting it back until autumn apparently due to high oil prices. If he really thinks oil will be cheap by October, his basic understanding of economics must surely be in doubt.”
Darling pledged to eradicate child poverty and help poor people find work. He said that the core purpose of the Budget was stability – both now and in the future. But the Conservatives attacked him for not doing enough. George Osborne, shadow chancellor said: "This is a bad news Budget. Alistair Darling is kicking Britain's families when they are down."
Tory leader David Cameron attacked Labour and particularly Gordon Brown for increasing the cost of living for the British public, claiming that taxes had risen without any return for the taxpayers. He said: “The Prime Minister who got us into this mess cannot possibly be the Prime Minister to get us out of it."
Darling was undoubtedly faced with a tough task. His predecessor enjoyed a good global economic environment for 10 years and yet the new chancellor’s first Budget came at a time of difficulty. His debut Budget didn’t include any vote-winning new measures, but there is no imminent election for him to worry about. It is tough to see which sections of society this Budget will appeal to, but it’s also hard to imagine who would be badly aggrieved by it. Darling played it safe. Predictable, but safe. In the current economic climate, it was pretty much the only option open to him.
By Tom Reed - MSN UK News Editor
