Today's papers react to the Budget

Times

This was a deliberately cunning pre-pre-election Budget. If economic growth over the next 12 months is towards the top end of his forecasts he might even have allowed the space for a small but eye-catching tax cut in 2005 — it would have been even nicer to have had it this year. He has skilfully managed to position himself as “Mr Prudent”, “Mr Merciful” and “Mr Generous ” simultaneously without seeming too confused.

Telegraph

The chancellor's strategy has always been that, if he can deliver a stable economy, the rest of us should not complain too loudly at having to fund his plans for better public services. And, on the first part of this bargain, he has delivered. Thanks in good part to his early decision to cede control over monetary policy to the Bank of England, and then to stay out of the euro (which are really two sides of the same coin), Mr Brown has achieved a degree of economic stability that eluded all his recent predecessors. The public services, however, remain obstinately unimproved, and for this his centralising instincts and aversion to reform must bear a large share of the blame. This, not his sudden conversion to the joys of debt (alarming though that may turn out to be), is his Achilles' heel. Whether the Tories have the political nerve to exploit it will determine the nature - perhaps even the outcome - of the next election.

FT

Mr Brown's record is not without blemish - his addiction to micro-managing the economy has proliferated red tape and exasperated business. His well-honed plans could yet be blown off course by an external shock such as rising interest rates. But his record in managing the public purse has given Labour a reputation for economic competence that would help him cope with such events - and will prove a valuable asset in the forthcoming election.

Guardian

It is easy to imagine what might go wrong. But what if everything goes right? A year from now, with the election imminent, Mr Brown may find himself with surplus cash. Far from having to raise taxes, as the Tories relentlessly insist, he may be in a position to give money to voters without breaking his golden rule. This may look different if the pre-election boom in the US falters, but the immediate prospects here are enticing. For Mr Brown the big immediate task is to deliver the 2.5 per cent annual efficiency in public services. Sir Peter Gershon, the government's productivity guru, thinks this challenging target is achievable. If it is - and much will depend on how it is done - the whole profile of the public sector could be changed for the good. We criticised Mr Brown for his unnecessary freeze in public spending during his first two years in office. But he is making up for it now, with potentially dramatic rises in spending on frontline services after several years of strong growth. Once again Mr Brown has put the money where his mouth is.

Independent

The man who will soon become Britain's longest-serving chancellor made the most of the other superlatives in his armoury when he rose to deliver his Budget speech yesterday. Britain was experiencing the longest period of sustained growth for 200 years, the lowest interest rates for a generation; the lowest mortgage rates for 40 years, and the highest level of employment "in our history". Expressed like this, Gordon Brown's record is enviable. But when he rounded off his hour with his familiar catchphrase - "our prudence is for a purpose" - it was abundantly clear that this purpose was less good house-keeping than victory in the campaign to come. This Budget had "forthcoming election" written all over it.

Sun

We welcome the extra money for defence and security. But is even more cash for schools and hospitals, with no guarantee of value for money, really much more than an election bribe? Reversing the tax incentive he gave small businesses two years ago and calling it “a loophole” sits uneasily with Brown’s talk of enterprise. He has done a remarkable job in putting the economy on a strong foundation.
But what’s wrong with letting us decide how to spend our own money instead of making us hand it to the Nanny State?

Mirror

This was a good Budget - unless you are a Tory MP or civil servant facing redundancy. For most ordinary people, Gordon Brown managed to make life better without forcing them to pay for it. There was a little for most of us, but not a lot for anyone ... Gordon Brown is the rarest of chancellors and not only because he is - as he could not help pointing out - running the most successful economy for 200 years. His achievements are the stuff of political fantasy. Who - apart from Mr Brown himself, naturally - would have believed when Labour came to power that by now Britain would be enjoying the lowest unemployment, inflation and interest rates of modern times? It is a remarkable achievement, made all the more incredible by the billions he is pouring into vital services.

Mail

Confident, commanding, master of all he surveys ... the longest serving chancellor since Lloyd George may not have produced the most sparkling of Budgets - indeed, in some places it was downright dull - but who can deny his towering presence on the political stage? It is a measure of Gordon Brown's achievements that the nation has begun to take his spectacular record for granted. Nowhere does there seem to be any great astonishment that Britain is enjoying its longest period of sustained growth since the Industrial Revolution, outperforming Germany, Japan, Italy, France and the U.S. Nobody appears surprised at low inflation, low unemployment, low interest rates or continuing stability. Today, they are taken as almost routine. And of course they are anything but.

Express

The whole thrust of this Budget indicates the government has set its sights on an early general election. If there is to be any impact on the taxpayer from the extra borrowing, then it will not hit our pockets until Labour is safely ensconced in Number 10 once more. Indeed, this was above all a politicaly motivated Budget, aggressively designed to trip up the Conservative Party while keeping the country on an even keel.