A regressive Budget

The publication of a report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) brought the Chancellor's emergency budget back to the fore of the agenda, and said the coalition's budget plans were 'regressive'.

The report was leapt upon by Labour as giving the lie to the coalition's commitment to fairness and protecting the poor.

The IFS concluded that the measures announced in George Osborne's emergency budget will hit those on the lowest incomes hardest.

Although the government has dismissed the report as failing to take account of the positive impacts of growth as the country exits recession, it will make grim reading for both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, who have both been at great pains to emphasise their 'progressive credentials'.