Budget 2003 is totally divorced from reality

IT would be good to believe that Budget 2003 got all the bad news out of the way and that things are on the up and up.

With the cut of 0.5% in ECB rates the outlook has brightened might seem a reasonable jumping of point as we face towards 2003.

As obsession with the Budget wanes and we start to look again at the bigger picture, the case for renewed optimism is difficult to justify.