Chancellor abandons fairness to hit lowest paid

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 10th Apr 2007

In his 11th, and probably final, Budget, Gordon Brown has announced a cut in the basic rate of income tax by 2% to 20% from April 2008. But the chancellor also removed the 10% band, which means most people will not be better off.

Shocked by the revelation, and apparently caught up in making personal jokes at Mr Brown's expense, David Cameron didn't mention this vital fact in his budget response, showing his lack of concern for those with a low or middle income.

Lib Dem leader Ming Campbell MP said, in his response, "the income tax changes announced in the budget will mean that anyone earning less than around £15,000 will pay more in income tax. The 2p cut in the basic rate is welcome, but let us be clear this is an income tax cut for the wealthy dressed up as a tax cut for the poor".