Pre-Budget Report: cloudy now, rain later

There were quite a few announcements to catch the eye in today's Pre-Budget Report, not least the 0.5% increase in National Insurance Contributions, which will be felt by everyone, and the banker's bonus tax, which will be felt by upmarket shops and galleries in London.
But the most telling of Alistair Darling's utterances was this: "Cutting support now is not a risk I am prepared to take."
You can take that two ways. One is that it was a clear statement that our battered economy remains too weak to stand on its own two feet.
The other interpretation - which may have more than a grain of truth in it - is that no Government with half a brain would slash spending and raid your pockets when they are only minutes from an election.
That the Chancellor is in a financial tight corner was confirmed by two other announcements.
One is that Government spending doesn't fall away that much over the next few years. Which suggests the Chancellor thinks economic growth and/or tax rises will help pay back all the money we owe. That's optimistic to say the least.
The other is that funding for two-thirds of the measures announced today will come from existing budgets. In other words, we can expect a series of announcements in the coming weeks about other Government schemes and programmes which will bite the bullet.
As I said the other day, this was bound to be a political rather than economic budget. Whoever comes to power after the election will be sharpening their axe now.