Michael Howard has attacked on the chancellor's borrowing plans asking "if everything is going so well why is he borrowing so much?".

The Tory leader said "this is a credit card Budget, from a credit card chancellor".

"He is on course to borrow this year alone four times as much as he forecast at the time of the last election," said Howard.

"And this is at a time when he claims the economy is doing well! How much would this Chancellor be borrowing if the economy went into a downturn?

The truth is that this is... a borrow now, tax later Budget from the borrow now, tax later Chancellor.

"If he has his way the country will pay for it later in Labour's third term tax rises."

'More of the same'

Howard said personal saving rates had plummeted under Brown's stewardship of the economy.

He claimed Wednesday's Budget was "more of the same".

"More of the same high spending, high borrowing and ever higher taxes," he told MPs.

And he warned that Brown was attempting to spend his way out of trouble.

"His growth is fuelled by a public sector boom, paid for by a public sector Chancellor," said Howard.

"And of course growth forecasts were not the only forecasts he made.

"Compared with last year's Budget, his forecasts for revenue were wrong. His forecasts for the deficit were wrong. His forecasts for borrowing were wrong.

"None of the Chancellor's bluster can disguise the fact that this is a Government which has increased taxes and increased borrowing."

The Tory leader said the borrowing announced by Brown "is simply unsustainable".

And he predicted Brown would lead Labour into oblivion.

"This budget will go down in history as the borrow now tax later budget," he said.

"What has really been achieved? The number of children playing truant from our schools is up," he said.

"Waiting times are getting longer and violent crime is at its highest level ever."

Lib Dems slam delay

For the Liberal Democrats, Treasury spokesman Dr Vince Cable accused Brown of using a delaying tactic to avoid key problems.

"The biggest decision in this budget was not to tackle them until after the next election," he said.

Increases for pensioners were, he believed, a sticking plaster for past injustices.

Plans for job cuts and relocation in Whitehall were also misleading.

Cable revealed just 18 civil servants would be moving from the Treasury.

"That shows not leading by example," he said.

Cable claimed Brown had dodged a raft of issues.

"The chancellor has failed to tackle a dangerously unbalanced economy," he said.

"He has failed to address the trillion pound household debt bubble, which will expose large numbers of families to financial disaster if interest rates rise and house prices fall."