A good budget?
Posted by: Avril Ormsby
The headlines say it was a budget that hit drinkers, smokers and gas-guzzlers.
Chancellor Alistair Darling hiked up the usual “sin taxes” in his first budget.
But he also postponed a 2p rise in fuel taxes until October.
He also made a bid for the green vote with a call for a new road pricing scheme and for retailers to charge customers for plastic bags.
Analysts said he had little room to “pull a rabbit out of the hat” because of the slowing economy and global credit crunch.
And indeed, he cut growth forecasts and ramped up borrowing.
Has it been a good or bad budget for you? - And was it a success or failure for Darling?
