Just in case you hadn’t missed it. Things to check off on your list include:

Rise in VAT, and/or changes to its scope.

Changes to Capital Gains

Reductions to public sector pay/pensions/funding

LibDems wishing that they hadn’t bent over so quickly to the Tories.

I have a feeling that the coalition will start to crack today. Nick Clegg warned his members that the budget would be “controversial” - by this I take it that his ideas have been ignored. I expect that there will be grumblings from LibDems backbenchers about this. I wonder if any will cross the floor.

The Tories will probably use this to push their political agenda much further than ever. Most people accept that things need to be changed but if this falls on the middle classes more than the rich I can see the coalition having serious problems, with the Liberals suffering more than most, and no election reform in place.

So VAT will rise to 20% on January 4th 2011. This is disgraceful.

Everyone knows that VAT is a regressive tax which hits the poor hardest, as they spend a higher proportion of their income on goods which attract VAT. I would have much preferred a rise in income tax instead.

You can argue it either way, depending on your political views ( clicky ).Raising it to 20% brings us more into line with the rest of Europe, and they seem to cope well enough with it. Personally, I prefer to have the money in my pocket and not in the hands of a Government that will inevitably waste some/all of it. That way I can choose to spend it on what I need and can afford.

There are too many people in this country who spend money they don't have using credit cards they should never have been given. It's time people in this country learned that money doesn't grow on trees - spend within your means and buy what you really need, not on what you can fit on the credit card.

To be fair, though, you've got a good 6 months to buy stuff before the VAT goes up - I suppose they could have put it up straightaway.


I'd prefer a VAT rise rather than Income Tax- at least I have a choice about buying stuff or not, whereas with Income Tax you've got no choice really.

I will have to undergo a DLA medical but since I was awarded it for life last year, I should sail through it. Though the fact that my benefits will fall further behind RPI each year will mean my standard of living will drop for the remainder of my life. Rather than be stable.

I doubt that - they have only budgeted until 2013 haven't they?

Yes but the pensions link with earnings was dropped for nearly twenty years. I cant see them restoring the RPI link soon, or any other party either. I can understand why they did it for unemployment benefit. Over time it will make even minimum wage look better but if they let that whither as well then they will have a problem getting people to accept minimum wage jobs.

They have also pledged to cut back housing benefit but that only rose because they had a huge property bubble. Clamp down on property prices and then housing benefits will not need to rise. All this could do is push people into B&B when they become homeless. If housing benefit does not cover rents or mortgages then people will become homeless.

"George Osborne, the Chancellor, waited until the last few minutes of his Budget speech to announce that the link between the state pension and average earnings would be restored from April 2011."

They always save the best for last. It gets a big cheer from the back benches.

That’s the famous “one last thing…”