In his 11th, and probably final, Budget, Gordon Brown announced a cut in basic rate of income tax by 2p to 20p from April 2008. But the chancellor also raised the lower rate up to 20p, which means most people will not be better off. Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that single people with no children, earning less than £18,500 a year, are the big losers from the Budget.

A YouGov poll has found fewer than one in five (18%) of people think the Budget will make them better off, and only one in three (34%) think the Budget was fair. Local Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Chris Millington says:

"The rise in the lower rate of taxation from 10p to 20p means most people will be no better off. These changes mean anyone earning less than £15,000 will end up paying more tax. It is a tax cut for the rich dressed up as a tax cut for the poor."

The Liberal Democrats want a fairer tax system - and would have paid for the 2p income tax cut by raising taxes on polluters and the wealthy, not by raising tax for low earners.

Meanwhile, the 'green' measures in the Budget are half-hearted and weak. Liberal Democrat research shows they would only cut the UK's carbon emissions by one sixth of one per cent of the total (330,000 tonnes a year).