Will the initial reaction be the one that sticks?

One thing we have learned since 1997 is that the reaction on the day of the budgets themselves is usually a lot more positive than how it’s viewed by the weekend.

I thought Darling delivered it well and Cameron’s spirited response was effective. Clegg was OK too.

But the government needed this to be a game-changer and I’m not sure that it is. The 50% tax rate will certainly put the Tories on the spot but the underlying numbers are so awful.

From my personal betting standpoint it’s been pretty good.

I made money on my SportingIndex sell bets on the number of times “billion” and “education” were mentioned but lost on the sips of water total. Net profit there £240.

My 5/1 William Hill bet on him not having any water came in at 5/1. Overall profit £125.

My 3/1 Ladbrokes bet on “credit crunch” was a winner but “sorry” was a loser. Net profit about £95.

So total winnings on the 2009 budget £460.