Thanks again Darling

[4GS]

Well, the Budget speech is over, was it a good or bad one?
(in your opinion)

[Kathyan]

How can they say that inflation is at 2% when everything is going up by much more than this? Just had our water bill, up by 7.5%. The Council Tax bill will be next, probably up by 4%. Gas and electric up by 12-15%. Food up by around 20%. OH's wages up by 2.6% but no 10% tax band now, so we won't be any better off!

[4GS]

Kath, there are certain things that the Government states indicate the inflation rate, such as food, clothing etc. All those commodities you mentioned are not indicators, neither is your mortgage

[carolegif]

Better get some wine in! I will fall foul of the 10p tax thing as I am on less pension as I looked afer my children for a while, then got a part time job with a married womens stamp and because I now work part-time instead of claiming benefits I will lose out.

Couldn't believe that single mother with 4 children on the TV moaning she hadn't got enough.

As you say Kathyan everything off the government's indicator had rocketed.

carolegif

[shomer42]

Real inflation is about 7.5%, the BBC economics correspondent said so last week.

[MatydaLover]

Higher taxes on big cars is pointless. Most of them are company cars and the rest are bought by those who can well afford them. No-one struggling with money buys one.

The only way to cut their use is to make it illegal to own one. I don't have an opinion on that, I just make the point that our leaders suffer from muddled thinking.

[TheGrump]

Yet more tax on the motorist, in the name of environmental issues

Perhaps the gov't should encourage the use of cars that run on old carrier bags?

[anotheoldgit]

Yes I agree with MatydaLover, Higher taxes on big cars is somewhat pointless. But then they are not bothered about people buying them it is just another source of revenue, this time off the rich.

It is the same with the small change Darling has put on cigarettes and alcohol, with the excuse that it is to curb smoking and consumption of alchol.

This is rubbish people will still smoke and drink. If he was seriously bothered to curb these two activities, he would have made cigarettes �10 for twenty and a similar increase on alchol.