Media response to Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report

I have to admit that from my first impressions of the media's coverage of Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report, I thought they were going to let him off the hook. Thankfully today's press has done nothing of the sort and there are some very critical comments from various media outlets. Even those that normally normally lean to the left :

Simon Jenkins The Guardian:

We heard nothing of £16bn on ID cards, £12bn on an unnecessary NHS computer, £6bn on a defence mainframe, and further billions blown on offender management, rural payments, abandoned hospitals, tax-credit losses and consultancy fees. Someone might even care to cast a sceptical eye on the ludicrous sums being splurged on the out-of-control Olympics project, conservatively costed at £9bn. This is all serious money, the price of sheer incompetence in modern British government.

Patrick Wintour and Larry Elliott The Guardian:

Labour saw Mr Cameron's poll bounce last week - especially in key marginals in southern England - as directly linked to the inheritance tax proposals unveiled by the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, in Blackpool, and Gordon Brown will be hoping that his act of political larceny leaves the Tories bereft of a manifesto.

George Pascoe-Watson The Sun:

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown watched approvingly yesterday as his Chancellor Alistair Darling stole FIVE Tory policies. Furious Conservatives listened as Mr Darling pinched their ideas, including plans to cut death duty and boost marriage. Failing African states will get extra help as overseas aid rises to £9billion, but small businesses were hammered and council tax bills could soar.

Andrew Grice The Independent:

Alistair Darling sought to neutralise the issue of inheritance tax as he stole three key policies from the Tories in his first tax and spending statement as Chancellor. What would have been the launch-pad for Labour's general election campaign if Gordon Brown had decided to call one next month was still a highly political package. Mr Darling tried to prevent the Tories reaping a reward for reform of death duties by acting only a week after they pledged to raise the threshold at which inheritance kicks in to £1m.

Benedict Brogan Daily Mail:

Mr Magpie: Chancellor steals Tories' thunder by using their ideas.

Alistair Darling staged a brazen raid on the Tory manifesto yesterday by offering many families immediate relief from death duties. The first major financial statement of Gordon Brown's premiership saw the Chancellor plunder a host of eye-catching Conservative ideas to shore up Labour's waning popularity. David Cameron and George Osborne watched gleefully as Mr Darling stunned MPs by stealing most of the tax proposals unveiled by the Tories at their conference barely a week ago.

There are many more but I don't like my posts to get too long. You can see the front pages of today's national press by clicking HERE.