Wednesday was Budget Day. The borrowing figures got the headlines - and rightly so. We're in a new age of austerity yet this Labour Government is trapped in the old age of irresponsibility. Anyone watching or listening to what was happening in the House of Commons as the Chancellor told us he was planning to borrow more in the next two years than all previous governments combined left me open-mouthed. I used to say this Government seems intent on saddling future generations with debt. I was wrong. After this week, they're going to crush them.
But, as ever, the real story of Labour's Budgets comes after the Chancellor sits down and you get to unpack truth from fiction. And this year, there was more fiction than normal. Within an hour the IMF had rubbished his growth forecasts, suggesting Labour's Debt Crisis will be even worse. Then their claim that only the rich would carry the burden of their mistakes was dismissed - their tax rises will hit the many, not the few, with everyone earning over £20,000 worse off. And by Thursday it became clear that there's an even bigger black hole in their figures - which will be plugged by guess who? Yes, all of us - in even higher taxes. This Budget can be summed up in one word: dishonest.
So I shouldn't have been surprised at the con trick they're trying to pull on expenses. Labour's idea of a clean-up operation is to pay MPs just for turning up to work, giving them the same amount of money but for less accountability - in fact, no accountability, no receipts. This is just not good enough and the country won't buy it. We need a system that is more transparent and more trustworthy. No more claiming for stamp duty or furniture or flat screen televisions or patio heaters. Let's deal with the lack of public confidence that way. And let's have a clear declaration from all MPs: this is where I live and this is why I require expenses to allow me to do my job. In fact, why does not Mr Brown just advocate what already happens in his home country in relation to expenses.
