2009 Budget: The political reaction

Opposition leaders have given their reactions to the 2009 Budget announcements, following Chancellor Alistair Darling's speech to the House of Commons.

Conservative leader David Cameron said that the Chancellor's speech had revealed the 'utter mess' that the Government had made of the economy.

Arguing that Mr Darling had not taken sufficient steps to control spending, he stated that 'Britain simply cannot afford another five years of Labour'.

'The last Labour government gave us the winter of discontent, this Labour government has given us the decade of debt', he said.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said that the Budget was 'a mish mash of recycled announcements from a Government skilled in raising false hopes and incompetent at delivering real hope'.

He said that the Chancellor had missed an opportunity to deliver 'a people's Budget for the 21^st century', and that the biggest disappointment of the Budget was the failure to fix Britain's 'unfair tax system'.