So it's Budget day

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If you were the Chancellor, what would be in your budget?

(should cure insomnia)

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If the tories get in, will they do another budget or do they have to stick to a labour budget?

They have said they will do an emergency budget within 50 days.

(in doc I linked to green issues start on page 105)

Doh Helen can you take the compulsory boxes with the MN nicknames off the first page? It puts people off if they just want to bang through ticking things

so when will the election be called?????????? today, tomorrow, next week?????? (cos once it is can't get a bloody thing done in some of the voluntary stuff I do, nobody will answer the phone and they'll all be in purdah)

I think it's fairly accepted that election will be May 6th.

well I know that but when will it be called???? thats when a lot of life gets more difficult.

Won't cutting stamp duty just give people more available money to spend on a house thus driving the prices up?

looks like we could keep bumbling on as we are until April 12th before it would have to be called for it to be on May 6th.

on dissolution

Love that quote from Gordon Brown addressing the bankers;

'what you have done for financial services we will do for the country as a whole'

(and they did)

167 billion pounds of borrowing

1.3 trillion in debt

borrowing the equiv of 450 million per day

Low income families in high value areas losing housing ben.

Poorest 20% paying higher proportion of tax than the richest- NC

1 in 4 adults out of work

more young people unemployed than anywhere else in europe

More businesses bust than any other time (including recessions)

More bankrupts than at any other time (including recessions)

And alister Darling lying that his figures were the same as the Bank of Englands!

What a budget?? Oh sorry I meant was that a budget?

morningpaper Afraid we can't take the name-filling thing off the first page - it's there so we can check you're a bona fide MNer.

Wouldn't want lots of "newbies" with Tory/Labour/Lib Dem HQ email addresses suddenly skewing our poll, would we?

Can I believe my ears Liam Byrne Mp just admitted on sky news Labour would be putting up taxes after the election.

Whoever gets in will be putting up taxes - is that such a revelation?

"Whoever gets in will be putting up taxes - is that such a revelation? "

With Labour having denied they would increase tax the revelation is someone on their side admitted it.

This stamp duty business - it's going to be a massive help to buy-to-let barons, isn't it?

They could have somehow excluded them from the stamp duty exemption.

Er they have it's for first time buyers only ie somebody who doesn't own another property.

The one thing I can't bear about budgets is Gordon bl**dy Brown sitting there smirking the whole way through.

When I say "smirking", it's more of a malevolent leer at the opposition benches.

You can just imagine him thinking: "here are my dividing lines, tory boys, what are you going to do about it?"

For him, the British economy is clearly just a tool with which to gain political advantage.

"The one thing I can't bear about budgets is Gordon bl**dy Brown sitting there smirking the whole way through."

Maybe it's just me but today he so reminded me of the churchill dog, jowels flapping, head nodding, only not cute.

I didn't like how aggressive DCameron was in his response tbh. I thought the Belize thing was actually quite funny and Labour said everything in fairly good spirits but DC's tone far far too aggressive imo.

I want someone who can fight the battle on numbers not on shouting.

It was a nothing budget though. And for all the bankers bleating, actually a hell of a lot of them got a bonus didn't they .

Clegg had a much better response - actually talked about the budget.

"I didn't like how aggressive DCameron was in his response tbh."

Yes it woke me up after Darling put me to sleep.

God forbid Cameron was ever as boring as Darling but he does need to tone it down a little bit, you can be forceful without shouting.