How will the newspapers report the Budget?

It'll be interesting to see how the newspapers report tomorrow's Budget.  The Chancellor will have been delighted at the "Brown cuts 2p off your income tax" headline that appeared above Joe Murphy's front page piece for the Evening Standard's 'London Lite' freesheet.  He will be less pleased with the headline given to the same Joe Murphy's piece for the Budget final version of the Evening Standard: "Brown's tax cut is final trick."

For me it is the trickery that should be the focus of the Conservative attack on a fiscally neutral budget that follows years of tax-rising budgets.  We need to nail Brown and Blair together - two masters of spin who have debased politics by more than ten years of misleading announcements.

Comments

[David DPB]

The Telegraph's website headline is 'Brown stuns critics with tax cuts', so if even such a staunchly Tory newspaper is doing this, I don't hold out much hope for tomorrow morning I'm afraid.

[Tim Aker]

Going all negative isn't going to work. Not all people will see the tax cut as being bad or even a 'trick', the sheer surprise of it will take people's attention away from the countless other tax rises Brown's initiated since he's been chancellor.

What Conservatives should be saying is "Ok, Gordon, good start. But when will we cut council, capital gains, inheritance taxes, stamp duty and national insurance, so Britons are geniunely better off" or "Great, Gordon, 2p's a start, how about 3, 4 or even 5p off income tax to make up for your ten years of tax rises?"

Yet, I fear the constant negativity from Cameron and co. will backfire as they play the 'proceeds of growth' nonsense and look desperate. 2p off income tax is a great thing, 3, 4 and 5p off income tax are even better things. Why is the party not being optimistic about this, it's a start of undoing the mess and we should tell the country how only the Conservatives advance on this Budget and cut taxes so people feel geniunely better off.

[David DPB]

2p off income tax would be a great thing, but this isn't 2p off income tax once you take into account the removal of the 10p. It's essentially a neutral re-jig that's had the effect of placing a higher burden on the lower paid (from a Labour chancellor!) and makes them even more dependent on the tax credit system.

[Steve]

People are not daft, they stopped listening to this rubbish ages ago. 10 years of stealth taxes are not erased by this. If he gets a bounce it will be temporary.

One thing is clear to me though, he will get murdered by DC at PMQs. If that is the best he can do then it really is game up for them.

I also think economists will be a spooked by the fact he is NOT cutting spending as he needs to do. He is also v bullish in his growth forecasts; rate are going up again, inflation is still rising, everyone is overleveraged..... he is leaving one almighty accident for the yes man he stuffs in the job.

No matter how much the media puff it, he is hated by the man in the street, this will not change that.

[Steve]

Guardian has "poor to pay for tax cut" as their story.NuLab were initially very upbeat on this but its sinking in that this is just more spin and no substance. Its not going to get them re-elected.

He will not an dcannot shake off the last 10 years when the govt are hated so much. Blair is just happyto see the ship go down to inflate his own importance. Very sad.

[Alex Forsyth]

Of course Brown is not "hated by the man in the street". Talk about ridiculous hyperbole.

Seems the Cameroons are getting all jittery this evening. Do I detect an acrid whiff of bitterness in the air?

If I were one of them I'd relax. There's no particularly good reason why Cameron is leading in the polls at present. If you are looking for any shadowy cause you can simply put it down to a localised version of Zeitgeist, and that has a life of its own which one budget won't negate.

Even if Brown really were a financial wizard it would take him a while to slow that particularly runaway train and throw it into reverse.

And of course he has time on his side.

[Steve]

you dont speak to the right people. the ordinary bloke is taxed up to his eyeballs, fed up with bubble property prices and feeling more alienated by the day.

Maybe hated was too strong but they simply have no time nor interest in these guys because they do believe a word they say. They will focus on the negative tomorrow when 5 years ago they might have bought the spin. Not scientific but it represents a vast swathe of working people i promise you.

[Richard]

"Guardian has "poor to pay for tax cut" as their story."

For the first time in my life I wish more than about 5 people actually bought the Guardian.

[Curly]

I just hope some of the more populist newspapers don't fall for this con trick, even the BBC tries to explain the sleight of hand! Remove the 10p tax rate and we ALL start to pay more tax at an earlier stage.

"Mr 99 Flake" I've named him!

[John]

"Brown doubles [starting rate] tax!"

[Craig]

BBC News 24 normally do a very quick preview of the newspapers just before 10pm. I'll see if I can catch them.

[Al Gunn]

Just got in from the pub. Of 5 young people working in Leeds, none claimed to have read anything more than the headlines, or heard anything more than work place conversation. None have any strong party affiliation and certainly not to us!

All had noticed the removal of the 10% rate and the implications for the less well off. That will be the story even if it isn't the Torygraph's headline.

[ricardo]

>>the ordinary bloke is taxed up to his eyeballs, fed up with bubble property prices and feeling more alienated by the day<<

Most "ordinary blokes" are benefitting from bubble property prices.

Some of them talk about little else.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Let's all buy the Guardian in the morning!

[Josh]

All Tory activists have a duty to get out there and make sure this deception does not go unchallenged.

[Craig]

Missed the quick paper review just before 10pm. I had to reboot my pc and it did not come back up in time.

[Richard Carey]

I'm with the Guardian on this one if they run the "Poor to Pay for tax cut" story. Poor Gordon tried to gloss quickly over the abolition of the 10pc rate, perhaps hoping it got lost as an act of "simplification". Instead, Brown's ambition for the top job has led him to publicly abandon (to us!) any commitment he might once have claimed to a belief in social justice in favour of an early electoral sop in what was a nakedly political (I know, they all are...) Budget.

Brown has effectively hit hardest with this move the poorer families and working lone parents still trying hard to climb the ladder despite the disincentives of his tax credit system. Shame on him.

Despite Brown's supposed late conversion to sharing the proceeds of economic growth, my message tonight would be that if you want a Government that tries genuinely to be "good for me, and good for my neighbour", then you have to vote Conservative.

[matt wright]

The increase in taxes on the lower paid has to be a very bad move. I'm finding this group really pee'd off already and this will make them less happy with Labour,

Matt

[TomTom]

The British Press is well suited to the literacy levels that £5 billion/month in Education spending produce......which is why the population is innumerate and illiterate.

It is when the Book comes out in a week's time that the footnotes become the real story.

Brown is still full-speed ahead with course set on the iceberg.....just wait until the US Dollar crashes as its housing market unwinds leaving the B of E with a policy dilemma on curbing inflation through interest rates - clearly Brown isn't going to do it through fiscal policy

[Craig]

Only The Sun gives a positive response on first impressions of the budget.

[Don Hoyle]

You might want a quick squizz at the BBC News web sites poll results

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6472999.stm?dynamic_vote=ON#vote_budget_voting

[Chris]

I'm shocked at the way how the papers are falling for the spin, obviously they haven't even read the report itself!

The papers tommorow simply ought to be leading with a picture of mondeo man leaning over and having the budget box "inserted" into him!

[TomTom]

how the papers are falling for the spin

No they have not read the Blue Book - they are propaganda sheets which made up the headlines before Brown started. What do you expect from comics ?

[TomTom]

Sorry...should read Red Book in this case

[ricardo]

>>I'm shocked at the way how the papers are falling for the spin<<

Why?

Aren't the politics of both parties now solely dictated by 'spin'?