This week's PBR looks set to be Brown's most political Budget yet

R King

As pointed out on Sky News some of the "new" policies were regurgitated and the cuts were first prescribed by Osbourne some time ago.

Were these announcements done to upstage Darling's speech?

Finally "Dimwit Brown" has realised that cuts are necessary.

Short the UK

New Traitors.

Chris lancashire

The more Brown plays politics with the PBR the more votes he will eventually lose.
And to claim "efficiency savings" and an "end to the Public Sector excesses" is a bit rich coming from someone in charge for the last 12 years. Credibility? Zero.

Luke

I may be alone in this, but Im hoping for a stronger response from osborne than just a list of labour's failures.

The country needs a plan to get to economic recovery and pay down the debt. This needs to be credible and it needs to protect the weak and, where possible, distribute the pain fairly between everyone else.

I will be judging labour's plan, such as it is, on that basis and if Osborne is going to trump it then ill need to hear more from him on what he actually proposes to do.

You're right he should dodge the dividing lines that Brown wants to create, but so too should he be setting out his own plans and ideas. If he wants to be taken seriously as a party ready for government he has to do more than dodge dividing lines and criticise Brown.

Naomi Muse

A Brown rehash! No new stuff here. Does he think we are stupid?

Questions to the PM -

If you can make 'efficiency savings' now then why didn't you do it before?

How big do you think the debt crisis is? (Your own figures would indicate that you underestimate in your provision.)

As you are targeting 'the rich' how does this fit with the earnings of Tony Blair and others who have risen from relative obscurity to owning a lot of property on the back of being MPs?

What are your long terms plans to put the world to rights?

Gaps in the Dialogue

Of course the PBR will be political. If Brown can gain the upper-hand in the economic recovery debate then he may have a chance to cut the Tory lead even further.

I don't think the Tories have framed this debate very well as yet. It seems their economic policy over the last week has been dominated by plans to reduce inheritance tax for the richest. Prior to this it was defined by Osborne's doom and gloom speech at the Party Conference. They need to up their game.

http://gapsinthedialogue.wordpress.com/

Joe Mooney

Old Brown is at again. He is more interested in saving Labour than he is in saving the country.

The sooner he and his Government goes the better it will be for all of us.

TrevorsDen

Brown can indeed soak the rich, and why should I care much about the 'rich' - unless one of them pays my wages.
But anyway I am all in favour of anything which relieves Lord Sainsbury of his money and puts it in govt rather than labour's coffers.

No - the point is, sadly, that soaking the rich whilst it might sound good, will not raise that much money. there are not many rich.
There are of course a lot of people in the middle - who might well start thinking how nice life might be in New Zealand.

oldtimer

Mr Liam Byrne, the Cabinet Minister(?), was interviewed today on BBCs WatO re bankers bonuses. He said that any bankers that brought their business to bankruptcy should get the sack not a bonus.

I thought that was excellent advice. It would be very satisfactory if UK voters had an early opportunity to sack this bankrupt government, including Mr Byrne.

toco

The dysfunctional Brown is becoming desperate-on the one hand he is happy to accept £15 million from Old Etonian Lord Sainsbury but hypocritically attacks private education.He really is in a downward spiral and has just about hit rock bottom.

Liz Brown

People are actually still listening to Brown????

Nick

Pay down debt? I've just fallen of my seat and bashed my head.

Neither the Tories or Labour are going to pay down debt.

That's why they keep talking about the deficit because twonks at the BBC don't realise they are different

Short the UK

It could well be the most important election in Britain's economic history:

1997 - 2007: The Bubble of Britian.

2007 - 2010: The Battle for Britian.

Do we become a proto-communist state that slides into world insignificance?

Do we become the Hong Kong / Singapore of the West?

This is the choice between Old Labour and the Tories.

Sir Graphus

In the last few weeks, the Tories have been suffering the increased scrutiny of being the govt in waiting, and as such, Gordon has managed to claw a few %age pts back. The PBR will bring the public’s attention squarely back to what an awful, irretrievable mess Gordon has made of the nation’s finances.

Yam Yam

Scorched Earth!

Ian Walker

I'm looking forward to seeing the reporting of Brown's speech on the Ten O'Clock News followed up with Guido's pie chart.

Not going to hold my breath though.

Mark, Edinburgh

@oldtimer 2.40pm

Indeed. Former top EU civil servant and RBS director Jim Currie was sacked from the RBS Board when the government took over.

However seems he is still a director of the Met Office.

greenslime3

Brown's lifting of Tory policies, buffing them up a little and, with absolutely no shame, presenting them as his own, is no surprise whatsoever - he has plenty of previous on this sort of thing. And every time the Tories present anything which remotely looks like a policy, you will find the same happens. That is why Cameron & Co are (and should be) reluctant to present their policies - despite the damage it does to them as Brown and his press acolytes continue to accuse them of having no policies. Cameron is right to deny any view of his policies until the election campaign is officially underway. Don't give away the plan of battle before the battle or the enemy will just take countermeasures.

Frank Leader

If Gordon Brown can now save £12 billions pounds why did he spend it in the first place? It's just typical of Brown absolutely useless.

Thomas Cussans

Joe Mooney:

You are wrong. Brown isn't 'more interested in saving the Labour than in saving the country'. He is interested exclusively in saving himself.

It is all that counts with him.

Hysteria

Interesting that Osborne's speech could be a defining moment in the future of this country - no pressure....!

TGF UKIP

Brown can make the running because a) the Tories have no credible economic voice and b)when it comes to propaganda, the Tories are absolutely clueless.

And how utterly depressing for Tories must be Pete's final sentence.

Private Schultz

Luke:

I'm with greenslime3 - the Tories should be very wary about coming up with policies, partly because Liebour will pinch them.

But I also worry that the current shower may have been massaging the stats, and that the situation is even worse than it seems. Again a reason for being cautious about anouncing policies before they've seen all the figures.

General Zod

These preidcitions of a "super tax" on bankers' bonuses point to Labour's use of the tax system as a political tool to appeal to their core voters. The overall tax take over the next few years wil undoubtedly be lower as a result of thes emeasures, but it doesn't matter becasu ea blow has been scored against the evil bankers.

Just remember, Brown, as Ben Bernanke toldyou and us, the banking crisis was of your making in this country. Perhaps you should pay a super tax on your entire earnings since 1997 and then just disappear back to scotland.

emil

Brownonomics - if you announce the same 12 billion cut 20 times you've saved 240 billion. sorted.

gareth

Well said Short the UK.
I have worked out of Singapore for ten years now...what a place! and the lack of corruption is a great testament to the old British way of life, that has been built upon there as successfully as anywhere else. Lee Kuan Yew could come and be Prime Minister of the UK anytime and we'll be set for a great future.
Need it be said he's straight and true? Why do we elect these traitor charlatans from New Labour who value only their own welfare.

JohnAnt

"improving efficiency in the public sector. Some of its measures are welcome – for instance, pledging to cut the pay of senior servants"
But Brown hasn't the slightest intention of implementing any of this, except in two or three cases.
They're his voters, stoopid.

Alastair

The super tax on bankers is a pure piece of self interest from Labour. As has already been pointed out, it will drive business overseas, so an incoming Tory government will have to reverse it. This will allow Labour to paint them as the party of the rich from the outset. Propaganda coup for Labour at the cost of the government finances.

mk

The Conservatives have really boxed themselves in on this.

Inheritance tax and banking bonuses are both negative issues for them and the entire narrative has become framed by these two issues.

For the election they need a short/understandable policy that moves the narrative on - for instance significantly lowering the basic tax rate for purposes of economic stimulus - which will have more voter impact in the marginals.

Minnie Ovens

Just when it is extremely important that the whole deficit spending is addressed in an authoritive and responsible manner we have Gordon Brown using the PBR as a political football.
How much further down; psychologically, morally and financially are these people going to take us before leaving?
They have trashed society and its infrastucture into the ground; something painstakingly built by trial and error over a thousand years.
Something which worked well until 1997.

daifromwales

Seriously deranged man. Today "City Minister Lord Myners" calls on RBS directors not to be "unpatriotic" by resigning if they don't receive the bonuses they expect. Just like when Stalin stopped playing the "Communist" card and start playing the "patritism" card when Hitler invaded and his country was in crisis.
All my life I've heard Labour mock patriotism. So we MUST be in a bad way...