This was Labour’s 13th Budget - Alistair Darling's third Budget.

We were all expecting it to be Labours BIG economic manifesto. But this is as good as it gets folks.

Pubs and alcohol:

5% increase in alcohol duty.

10% increase in tax in Cider.

Can Labour think of anything else to completely kill off the British pub?

Stamp duty threshold for 1st time buyers to houses worth £250,000 - This is a complete non-policy.

How many first time buyers do you know can afford a house worth quarter of a million pounds?

In the current climate, with lenders insisting on larger deposits than ever before, many can’t afford the deposit on a house half that amount.

University places: £270million: Labour promises to continue to help universities and increase student places.

This money to come from ‘other places.’ I take it this means defence, since a recent report said 500 soldiers may be made redundant as part of wide ranging defence cuts.

Extra maths and English lessons 4 - 7 year-olds that fall behind.

After 13 years why does this problem still exist? Didn’t Labour come into power claiming their priority was education, education, education?

Selling off Tote, Dartford Tunnel: These can only be sold once, so this time next year what’s Labour or the Tories going to sell off?

Royal Mail of course !!

Fuel duty - 3p increase will be staggered - 1pc in April, further 1p rise in October, rest in January, businesses need this like a hole in head. Prices are already high enough and are set to rise to record levels this year.

Transport and democracy: In terms of the high speed rail link, he said he would cut delays in the planning process. This clearly equates to reducing the voice of residents in deciding local issues.

The Labour party does everything it can to reduce the power of local people.

Tories: Not a single number passed ‘Call me Dave’s’ lips.

If he can’t use the budget response speech to set out what the conservatives would do, then he either doesn’t yet know what they will do differently to New Labour, or he knows they will do nothing differently. It shows just how dishonest their vague slogan of ‘vote for change’ really is.

Call me Dave said that no one has given a reason for there to be 5 more years of Labour, but David Cameron failed himself, to give anyone a single reason to vote conservative. He concealed what the Tories would do if they came to power, and gave the electorate a very good reason to vote UKIP – that being the country needs real change, and UKIP are the only ones offering it.