Austerity on the way-look to Ireland

Staying on the subject of budgets, the Mail warns that Alistair Darling is preparing an austerity budget in two weeks time.

With drastically reduced Government revenues in the recession, the Chancellor may have to raise fresh taxes and cut back public spending.

reports the paper adding that

Treasury officials say Britain is in a 'V' shaped recession in which the downturn is unusually steep and no one knows where the bottom is.

Maybe it mightg be prudent to turn to Ireland which yesterday brought in its own austerity budget as an indicator of what the future might bring.

The country's second budget in six months saw large rises in taxes and severly slashed spending as the country fights to contain a burgeoning budget defecit as it forecasts an 8 per cent drop in growth this year

Guido make one good point tough comaring the two countrys.

Irish politicians rightly feel they need to share the pain - pensions for serving politicians are to be discontinued and allowable expenses cut by 10% across the board. The Irish President Mary McAleese has already announced that she will be taking a 10% pay cut in light of the current budgetary troubles. The finance Minister Brian Lenihan and his ministerial colleagues took a 10% wage cut last year. The opposition leader has instructed his party’s parliamentarians to take a 5% cut. The governor of the Irish Central Bank and Financial Services Authority has volunteered to also surrender 10% of pay. The state broadcaster RTÉ’s top six executives are taking a “significant reduction” in pay.

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