The Budget and The £8BN "Windfall"

The ITEM club has estimated that public sector net borrowing will be around £140.2BN for 2010-11, £8.3BN less than the £148.5BN deficit forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Some sections of the media have foolishly referred to this as a "windfall", which the Chancellor can use to oil tomorrow's budget with.

This is of course nonsense, the Chancellor does not suddenly have access to an extra £8BN with which to "play":

1 This is merely a downward estimation of the level of increased debt that we are being saddled with each year.

2 The UK's total debt stands at £4.8 Trillion.

3 Our insane venture into Libya will put further holes in our country's finances.