Budget 2008: Darling must keep it short
Alistair Darling must keep his début Budget short and sweet when he steps up to the dispatch box on March 12th.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling on the chancellor of the exchequer to strip his budget to the "bare necessities" - as the government has little room to move amid a slowing economy.
Richard Lambert, CBI director-general, said: "Calling on the chancellor to set aside the normal Budget theatricals in favour of a slimmed down, practical statement may seem fanciful, but our suggestion, made more in hope than expectation, reflects turbulent times both at the Treasury and in the UK and wider world economy."
He added there was "no room to manoeuvre" on taxes - either to raise them to add pressurised public finances or cut them to boost the economy.
"The only worthwhile tax changes Mr Darling could make would be to postpone for a year ill-considered and rushed changes to capital gains and non-doms tax, to give the many affected individuals a decent period to plan," Mr Lambert said.
The CBI's suggested budget speech for Mr Darling stands at just 258 words and its proposed 2008 finance bill would be just six pages long - compared with the 305 pages in Gordon Brown's final budget last year.
The body is also calling on the chancellor to re-visit the government's three-year spending plans next year.
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