... comes from Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute, on government proposals to increase volunteering:

"Gordon Brown is a Son of the Manse, a moral soul, and I¹m sure a generous one. Unfortunately it¹s all too easy to be moral and generous with other people¹s money."

"Now he¹s going to put £300 million into community volunteering. Who could oppose that? No one, until you realise it means that £20 is forcibly taken off every family of four so that the Chancellor can spend it on another pet scheme. Politicians¹ pet schemes, however virtuous they appear, mean high taxes. With high taxes, we have to work longer for less money. So we¹ve less time to give to the community, less money to give to good causes."

"Frankly, I believe people can spend their own money better than politicians can - especially when you take off the administrative expenses involved in getting the cash out of us and distributing it to the pet causes. And only we can spend it morally - there is no virtue if we are all forced to contribute."

"Still, the money¹s not all wasted. It funds another government announcement ("A Dad¹s Army for the 21st Century" - give me a break) which will no doubt be recyled and re-announced for years to come."

"But let¹s cut out the middle man here. Let the Stealth Chancellor give us back our time and our money, and let us be virtuous for ourselves."