Budget to be Without Political Content or Proposals for Debt Reduction

"The economy and the decisions we take that will affect the next five, 10, 20 years are pretty critical to the big decision, the big choice the country will make whenever the election is called.   [most would consider the decisions that have been taken in the last five, ten, thirteen years pretty critical to the big decision, the big choice the country will make whenever the election is called. Ed.] Crucially we have got to plan now to ensure we get growth for the future because growth is what brings jobs, jobs is what will bring rising living standards.''  [The United Kingdom now is set on a permanently and markedly lower growth path because of the decisions taken under the New Labour regime.  Growth may be achieved - Goodness knows it is to be prayed for fervently - but the higher growth path , the high road, has been lost forever.  We will, at best, be taking the low road.  Ed.]

Asked if he would give details of spending cuts, Mr Darling said: 

"I have always said that because of the uncertainty we have seen over the last 18 months it would have made no sense to have been doing a (comprehensive) spending review at that stage. [So will you step back now from your previous erroneous decision to refuse to set out your proposals for the recovery of fiscal propriety? Ed.]  ''We won't do one before the election, but of course one has got to be done this year because our current spending runs out at the end of March 2011.''  [Cowards flinching, then Chancellor?  Nothing before the election?  Ed.]

Angels  is confirmed in the expectation that the Budget will be purely a technical requirement fulfilled, and its usual political content removed from democratic scrutiny.