Budget 2009: David Parkin Comment
DESPITE the continued signs of paralysis in the UK banking market, Alistair Darling is one man who has no problem with his borrowing.
The Chancellor will take a record £175bn of borrowings on board this year and another £173bn next year as he attempts to turn around Britain’s economy from shrinking by 3.5% this year to growth of 1.25% next year and 3.5% the year after.
Economic experts believe he’s being optimistic about those figures. The polls suggest he would be optimistic thinking he will be around to find out whether such predictions will be correct.
Delivered to a subdued House of Commons, the Chancellor’s 50-minute speech highlighted how little he is really able to do to support business and the UK economy.
Given that this Government has just a year left in office and its poll ratings are lagging well behind the Tories, was this just a case of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic?
If the Government is struggling on the economic front, then it must take the fight to David Cameron’s Conservatives on the political front.
And experts believe that in increasing the tax rate to 50% for those that earn more than £150,000 a year, that was exactly what Mr Darling was trying to do.
The move is unlikely to be more than a drop in the ocean when it comes to helping plug our Budget deficit. But it puts the Tories on the back foot in terms of whether they support it or criticise the measure.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne lacks experience and some say is still short of credibility.
Mind you, given the current state of the economy, some might say the man he shadows has got the same problem.
