With less than ten days to go until the 2010 Budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed to Sky News on Sunday that there would be no comprehensive spending review until after the 2010 general election (external website).
That implies the Chancellor will not be announcing the details of any spending cuts in his Budget. Most commentators think it unlikely that any significant new tax-raising measures will be announced either, leading accountancy firm BDO to describe the forthcoming Budget as "the phoney budget" (on their website).
Adding to the list of things NOT expected in the 2010 Budget, the KPMG's Chief Economist Andrew Smith writes that there won't be scope for any pre-election giveaways either, as the £180 billion hole in the public finances means that "the cupboard is bare" (on the KMPG website).
However, the Observer reported yesterday that the Chancellor will claim that government action to protect jobs has saved the UK economy around £12 billion (on the Guardian website), suggesting that there may still be a little to spend.
"Last night Treasury sources insisted that most of the windfall savings from lower-than-expected unemployment would be used to cut the deficit, rather than for pre-election giveaways," the paper says.
But writing in the Guardian last week (external website), Larry Elliot's tip was that despite the theme of fiscal rectitude, "there are also likely to be job creation measures, help for small businesses and money for pensioners."
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