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2010 Budget: the political reaction
Opposition parties have given their reactions to Chancellor Alistair Darling's 2010 Budget, which represents his last Budget before the forthcoming General Election.
Conservative leader David Cameron said that Labour should be 'ashamed' of the state of the nation's finances, and accused the Government of adopting ideas put forward by his own party, including changing the stamp duty threshold for first time buyers and increasing duty on cider.
He also said the Chancellor had failed to point out that the trade deficit has soared by £7bn, and argued that the Government has not taken sufficient steps to tackle the economic deficit.
David Cameron said, 'The only new ideas in British politics are coming on this side of the House and the only things that Labour are bringing are debt, waste and taxes'.
He added that a further term of Labour would lead to 'five more years of falling confidence, five more years of bloat and debt and taxes, five more years of Britain closed for business'.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg described the Budget as 'little more than a footnote to 13 years of failure', and that it was built on 'false comfort'.
Calling for 'honesty in spending and fairness in taxation', he said that neither Labour nor the Conservatives are being honest with the UK public, and amid the politically charged atmosphere was keen to point out that his own party would ensure that nobody paid tax on the first £10,000 of their earnings.