Clarke: Other budgets have been more controversialpublished at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2016
Budget debate
House of Commons
Parliament
Former Conservative Chancellor Ken Clarke congratulates George Osborne on "bringing back the tradition of a Chancellor speaking on the last day of the Budget debate" - Mr Clarke was the last chancellor to do this.
"It has had the effect of enlivening the debate," but he says it is "not unusual for a Budget to be controversial".
This isn't even "the worst" controversy he has seen. The 1981 budget with Geoffrey Howe "was extremely controversial, where passions ran far higher and far more seriously" while Nigel Lawson's Budget speech was suspended when he tried to cut taxes on higher earners.
He adds that there has been "no alternative economic policy or strategy of any kind on offer" from other parties.
Rather ruefully he adds he is sure his party will "make up" for that lack of challenge in its own way.