Darling’s last Budget: all politics and no big ideas

If Chancellor Alistair Darling wished to make any one point in his final, pre-election Budget, it was that Labour is a competent steward of the British economy. An uphill struggle, for sure, and this was a Budget ringing with political themes but no headline ideas.

Looking to boost economic recovery and tackle debt, Darling claimed the UK was reducing its debt load faster than any G7 country. Of course, that fails to take into account that UK debt has doubled over the 13 years Labour has held power.

Emphasising a key theme of the forthcoming general election, he said: "At the heart of our decisions is a belief that government should not stand aside, but instead help people and business achieve their ambitions."

Darling claimed his tax reforms - including the 50 per cent levy on banker bonuses previously announced - will help to reduce government borrowing by £11 billion. He announced a £2.5 billion one-off growth package; the sell-off of various government assets, including the Dartford crossing; and the doubling of the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 to help first-time home buyers, to be funded by a tax increase on buyers of houses over £1m. He also called for an international tax on banks.

In the margins, he promised to move civil servants out of central London and offered tax breaks to the video game industry. The duty rise on alcohol remains as planned - but with an extra 10 per cent above inflation on cider, for some reason, as of Sunday midnight.

The loudest cheers came when he said he was going after tax-evaders, closing tax loopholes with Dominica, Grenada and Belize - which everyone knows is where the Tories' 'non-domiciled' deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft keeps his millions.

Darling then called for the modernisation of nuclear power stations and announced that an investment bank, controlling £2bn of equity, will be set up to fund green transport and energy initiatives.

Darling was realistic about Britain's prospects, warning that there was "nothing pre-ordained" about economic recovery.

Conservatives dismissed Darling's figures, saying in effect that only a Labour government could boast about reducing borrowing from £178 billion to £167 billion.

What Darling almost entirely failed to tackle was how to manage budget cuts necessary to bring down the national debt substantially in the future. That, we must assume, is a post-May 6 issue, when someone else will doubtless be Chancellor. ·