I’m not going to waste your time echoing the same sentiments expressed elsewhere except in exhaustive depth – I’ll keep this brief:

Scorched Earth Election Budget.

Plans depending on growth of 3.5% in 2011? A joke – and an insult. It’s a figure plucked out of the air to make the sums ‘add up’. Who seriously believes that we will experience this level of growth in an environment of ever increasing public debt, taxation and an ever bigger public sector?

I mean, it’s a joke right? Scorched Earth.

£2000 bung per new car sold for the Car Industry? Pure unadulterated protectionism.

For starters it creates a nice market in buying old cars and relisting them at £1,500 – it’s worth buying an old banger for that if it knocks you another £500 off the price of a new car. It also means, if you don’t already have an old car, you pay £2000 more than everyone else for new cars (unless you buy a second hand one… and of course all the ones under about £1500 will be bought up). In addition it reduces the total supply of cars, further increasing the value of second hand ones. In addition it encourages people with 8 and 9 year old cars that don’t even work to hang onto them for that little bit longer. Expect lots of bangers that never move cluttering up streets while their owners wait for their little investment to pay off.

I do not approve.

Welcome to the new mantra: Tough on Wealth. Tough on the Causes of Wealth.

UPDATE: Nick Robinson’s picked up on the end of the stealth tax culture – and importantly points out that they’ll raise more from increases to fuel duty than they will from the new 50% rate. Hammer the Rich. And the Poor. And everyone. Who exactly is supposed to benefit? Who’s all this serving?