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Continuing with this Government’s preparation for a thumping defeat at the polls in the next general election, The Times reports:

Drinkers and drivers were hit in the pocket yesterday as Alistair Darling used them and a borrowing surge to try to steer Britain away from recession and through global financial storms…

Drinkers and drivers? As if they were an “interest group” of smallish size? In case The Times hasn’t noticed, those “groups” include just about every household in the country, in one form or another. (Especially, when it comes to drivers, families with children — the group these hypocrites this Government always claims to be sooooooo concerned about.)

Overall the tax burden this year remains largely unchanged as the economy slows down. But the alcohol and delayed car charges will mean that taxes increase by £800 million next year and £1.8 billion the year after — and the general election will happen in one of them.

Mr Darling was forced to reveal a severe toll on his finances as the housing market downturn, weaker consumer spending, and rougher times in the City hit revenues from stamp duty, VAT and income tax…

Amazing. For lower house prices was what this Government claimed to have wanted. It claimed also to want lower consumer spending, in order to keep inflation at bay. It got both of those things, and “rougher times” in the City are a consequence.

Now — surprise, surprise — the Government needs more revenue:

…In total, Mr Darling will borrow £140 billion over the next four years, £20 billion more than he forecast in his Pre-Budget Report (PBR) five months ago. This is mainly because of weaker-than-expected growth reducing tax receipts. He will now have to borrow £7 billion more than he predicted in the next financial year, lifting the figure to £43 billion…

Of course, the mere notion of looking perhaps to curb government spending obviously never crossed any of these Labour minds. Britain has now had over a decade of this nonsense. Americans at home should be very wary, before falling for the renewed siren song of the ever upwards spiral of higher government spending and more taxes being a magical solution to everything.

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UPDATE: March 14, AOL UK:

Nine out of 10 motorists face higher road tax under changes announced in this week’s Budget, it has been claimed.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance calculated that 88% of vehicles would be hit with higher duty, while only 9% would leave their owners better off…