The Tory response

James

The Conservatives need to raise the publics’ awareness of the implications of Public Sector Pensions and other guaranteed commitments when considering future planning.

The Wonderful Jones

More importantly, his put down of Ed Balls were fabulous to watch and really put Blinky in his place. Probably Dave's best off-the-cuff remarks yet.

Paul B

Agreed, I thought DC was assured and confident, with GO chipping in behind him. Brown grinning away-reminded me of Jack Nicholson playing the role of the Joker, he loved evil & twisted and very uncomfortable. He deflated the Ball very well, evens Eds colleagues looked amused. We done Dave!!!

mart

The Conservatives must, must, announce they are reviewing again their previous tax remarks in light of the economic uncertainty coming. They should make reference to the published data, such as the pieces Fraser has mentioned elsewhere in this blog today. They should realise we are in an information-savvy generation now, and mention a URL where interested members of the public can go to see for themselves the way the numbers are due to work out over the coming years. Most importantly, they must offer an alternative to the tax and spend policies that have brought us here. Mr Cameron's tone and content in Parliament deprecating the current state of affairs was well-judged, but now the policies need to follow which will give a genuine alternative.

David Lindsay

Cameron was completely beyond parody, engaging in sick-making "all good public school Oxonians together" banter with Ed Balls, and delivering his whole speech in his trademark style and tone: that of a posh undergraduate who knows that he'll never need to work and who thinks that everyone else is an insolent new footman asking for the sack. But he should have given us all an even bigger laugh by breaking with tradition and putting up Osborne instead. Number Two Bully Boy sat through Darling's speech wearing the expression of a Classicist at a chemistry convention. He couldn't understand a word of it. He is literally only there because he is a member of the Bullingdon Club. Which is presumably why he almost never speaks in public.

Chuck Unsworth

Usual ad hominem nonsense from Lindsay the Class Warrior. So, apart from that David, what did you think of the speech? And you should know by now that it is the job of the Leader of the Opposition to respond to Chancellors' budget speeeches. But then, what would you know about anything at all? (Just taking a leaf from the well-thumbed Lindsay book, here)

Buckinghamshire Tory

Does anyonr know where one can wantch the budget speech, and David Cameron's response? David Lindsay: Even by your usual standards, that was a load of rubbish.

John Marston

Whoever wins the next election will have difficult, unpopular decisions to make on public spending and taxation. David Cameron must be wondering if it's an election worth losing narrowly.

Nicholas

David Lindsay: "and delivering his whole speech in his trademark style and tone: that of a posh undergraduate who knows that he'll never need to work and who thinks that everyone else is an insolent new footman asking for the sack". Strange, that is not how I or it seems many others viewed Cameron's strong performance. Maybe that perception is more about the baggage you are carrying than about Cameron?

Chuck Unsworth

@ Bucks Tory: Here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7280000/newsid_7289200/7289258.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1 and here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7290000/newsid_7292100/7292150.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1 It's notable that (predictably) the Brown Broadcasting Corporation has chosen to make the link to Darling's statement prominent, whilst burying Cameron's immediate response on other pages of its site. Actually I thought Cameron put in an incisive and witty performance. He ceratinly walked all over Darling and Balls - although that is not too difficult. Watch Brown, though. His reactions were pure Amateur Dramatics - he's obviously been taking lessons, but isn't nearly up to standard yet.

Alan Douglas

Cameron needs to start shouting about how ALL the Conservative savings can come out of the huge Quango-increases of the 10 LKabour years, thus preserving ALL the "front-line services" that are so shouted about. Alan Douglas

michael dearden

With reference to David Lindsay's diatribe against DC.Tell me David,do you find carrying a chip on both shoulders as tiring as it is for us to read the absolute tripe you push out?

David Lindsay

Funny, everyone over on the Telegaph's blog agreed with me. And they all said that they were diehard Tories. Oh, and they were particularly scornful about Osborne. Cameron is, like Clegg, one by-election away from the chop.

Nicholas

Well there you are then David. The Telegraph - that explains it.

Neil McLeod

After Ed Balls another hit the Tories could make is this Labour MSPs being critical of the tax hike on a bottle of whisky: http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2123287.0.alexanders_cabinet_man_condemns_price_hike.php It would usually be a side bar at most but Iain Gray was, before becoming an MSP again, a special advisor to a one Alistair Darling.....