"In his crucial Budget speech, George Osborne tries to pull off a tough balancing act - while Ed Miliband gets cross, and David Cameron becomes a little over-excited," writes, external the Telegraph's parliamentary sketchwriter Michael Deacon.

He says George Osborne has improved as a speaker but, "what hasn't changed, however, is his tone of voice. Almost everything he says sounds like an insult".

With phrases such as "walking tall" and "the comeback country", the chancellor's statement was designed to convey optimism, he goes on, arguing, "David Cameron could have said these words easily. For Mr Osborne - the most acidly cynical figure in British politics since Edmund Blackadder appointed himself Baldrick's election strategist - it must have been rather harder."

Image source, Getty Images

Sharp-eared viewers may have heard the nation's media competing with hecklers during some of today's live Budget analysis coming from outside Parliament, on Westminster's College Green. LBC's Iain Dale has explained what was the cause of the racket, external.

Image source, Getty Images

The Guardian is reporting, external that broadcasters are expected to confirm tomorrow that the first TV election debate featuring the party leaders will go ahead next week, with David Cameron and Ed Miliband interviewed separately by Jeremy Paxman. It is also thought the announcement will confirm the formats for the rest of the debate, with no substantial changes expected to the proposals which Downing Street claimed on Tuesday to have agreed with broadcasters.

A timely reminder that Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two shortly, at 22.30pm. Conservative Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke and his opposition counterpart, Chris Leslie, will be on the programme. We'll be watching, and bringing you all the latest.

Tim Montgomerie sees Lynton Crosby's fingerprints all over the Budget - and isn't best pleased about it, bemoaning what he sees as the short-term election strategy coming at the cost of a long-term vision for the party.

Writing in tomorrow's Times, external (£) he says: "The campaign the Tories are fighting — simplistic, repetitive, dull, muscular, negative — is all Crosby and so was the budget."

He goes on: "My only hope is that, win or lose, Crosby is not allowed to continue his domination of the Conservative party after May 7," concluding, "Crosby's political recipe might be enough to beat Ed Miliband. It's not enough to build a Conservative party that deserves to win elections."

tweets, external: Thursday's Metro front page: 22 die in terrorist attack at museum

Image source, Metro

tweets, external: This week's Spectator front page: Britain is working #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers

Image source, The Spectator

Image source, PA

The Guardian, external has totted up the cost of, as it sees it, the Budget measures which allowed the chancellor to score a point at Ed Miliband's expense in the Commons - and arrives at a total of £81m, plus some "valuable treasury civil servant hours". It claims the chancellor's speech left "some wondering if he is spending millions of public money on cheap shots".

Image source, Evening Standard

One for tonight, rather than tomorrow ... the West End final of the Evening Standard. Readers will remember two years ago when the paper had to apologise after publishing details of the Budget too early.

BBC News Channel

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Was there much in the Budget for women? "Noooo!" asserts economist Katrine Marcal. "Duty cuts for fuel and beer - that's a budget for Jeremy Clarkson." Although George Osborne said in his statement that the gender pay gap was now at its smallest, she says if you compare the UK to many other countries in the OECD "it is still pretty large".

tweets, external: I haven't had enough of this pre-election Budget -- will be reviewing the frontpages on the #bbcpapers tonight

tweets, external: Wednesday in Parliament: Wisecracking @George_Osborne favours savers & ends austerity early. Labour labels #Budget2015 'unbelievable' (1/2)

Plus: Mixed feels about the schools building programme & fears Likud's victory will further stall the Mid East peace process (2/3)

And @David_Cameron sees the funny side of @Ed_Miliband's two kitchens @bbcdemlive 2300 tonight (3/3)

BBC News Channel

It was a "tick box Budget", economist Marian Bell tells the BBC News Channel, and by "apparently giving something for everybody the image that's been created is perhaps not entirely valid". The budget overall did very little for the economy, she adds, as everything "netted out".

Image source, Reuters

Tweets, external: ‏Farage on His Health: "I've Never Been Well, external" …

James Landale
Deputy political editor

Image source, Reuters

George Osborne's aim today was to turn the economic recovery of the country into the political recovery of the Conservatives. So, he tried to reassure voters worried about another Tory-led government and convince them they'll benefit from the growing economy. Read more from James here.

Image source, @EdConwaySky

tweets, external: Statistical evidence that Osborne's refusal to do pre-election giveaway is HIGHLY unusual. Brown in 05 only other one

Image source, AFP

In other news, David Cameron has said he is "appalled" by the terror attack in Tunisia, which left 22 people dead when gunmen stormed the country's national museum. The prime minister pledged Britain's full support, while the Foreign Office said it is "urgently" looking into the attack amid reports Britons may be among the dead.

Conservative chairman Grant Shapps has been in the headlines rather a lot this week but, according to journalist and former Conservative staffer Andrew Gimson, it is his co-chairman Lord Feldman who is the more important political figure. In a profile for ConservativeHome, external, Gimson describes Feldman - who is in charge of party fundraising - as David Cameron's "oldest political friend" and suggests he has an "exceptional aptitude for filling the party's war chest". With the election just 50 days away, this backroom figure's significance could be greater than ever.