Osborne winning the Budget PR battle – but VAT remains a thorny issue

Well, that’s gone as well as can be expected for the coalition.  Most of today’s newspaper coverage highlights the severity of George Osborne’s Budget – but, crucially, it adds that the Chancellor had few other options.  The Telegraph calls it a “brave Budget”.  The Times says that it delivers “the best of fiscal conservatism combined with no small measure of social justice”.  And even the FT – no friend of the Tories in recent years – suggests that Osborne might be “remembered for doing Britain a great service.”

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The sourest notes chime around the government’s welfare cuts and the hike in VAT.  Already, it’s clear that the latter will be particularly difficult for the Tories and embarrassing for the Lib Dems.  In an otherwise solid performance on the Today programme, for instance, Osborne sounded wobbly when it came to VAT.