Why is Alistair Darling playing down his next budget?
Over the last 48 hours the UK government has made a determined effort to play down hopes of a giveaway budget later this week. Why is Alistair Darling playing down his next budget and what does he have up his sleeve?
While there is no doubt that Alistair Darling can ill afford a giveaway budget it looks as though he may have around £5 billion to play with which he can use to surprise consumers and get voters back onside. It is being taken for granted that the 2.5 pence per litre increase in fuel tax will be delayed although there is no certainty on this particular issue at the moment.
There is no doubt that Alistair Darling will have some surprises in store for UK consumers as the economy shows signs of recovery albeit of a fragile nature. However, in many ways Alistair Darling and the UK government's hands are tied as to how much they can give away because there is a need to address the issue of UK government finances before anything else.
It is interesting to see that the UK government, or sources close to the government, have already leaked certain parts of the budget which include a UK government bank for investment in the economy and loans to businesses.
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