IN the face of the worst recession since the Second World War, it was never likely to be a Budget to set the pulses racing.

And, in terms of it breathing new life into the critically-ill economy, there was precious little to get excited about.

Due to the way such things are leaked to death these days, there were no real surprises. We are in a mess and it will be a long time before we crawl out of it.

But for all that, it was a memorable – even historic – Budget because of what it means for the General Election, looming in 2010.

In making tax hikes for the rich the headline Budget announcement, the Government has played an intriguing card.

After all, what does the scrapping of a key manifesto pledge matter when the country is in debt to the tune of something like £175bn?

The polls show it to be a popular move, despite it being a reverse of Tony Blair’s passionate pledge that neither the basic, nor the top rate of tax would go up under New Labour.

The truth is that it will not raise that much money in the great scheme of things, but it undoubtedly leaves David Cameron with a whopping political headache.

The tax hike for the wealthy will take effect next April, a month before the likely date of the election.

Is the Tory leader really going to succumb to pressure from his supporters and promise a tax cut for the 300,000 richest people in Britain in what will continue to be tough economic times?

Over to you, Mr Cameron.