UK Pre-Budget 2004
Resources
More on FT.com
Chancellor's golden rule may not be easy to keep
Gordon Brown has only a 62 per cent chance of staying within his self-imposed limit on government borrowing, even if everything goes right in the rest of this year, a leading think-tank said.
Brown makes pledge on welfare state
Chancellor lays down central plank of election manifesto
Tax-avoidance package to hit City bonuses
Clampdown to raise ?3.5bn by April 2008
Conservatives accuse Brown of 'alchemy in reverse'
Gordon Brown had chose to "slide over the inconvenient facts" of the public finances the Tories said in response to the pre-Budget report.
Local authorities given lifeline in capping battle
Local councils won a significant victory when Gordon Brown announced a near-£1bn handout to forestall high council tax bills.
Related content and features
Business
Family friendly Gordon unveils recipe to win votes
For Tony Blair and Mr Brown the focus is on the general election expected next May. And there is confidence that the chancellor has done enough to face down the Tory election charge that a vote for Labour means a vote for tax hikes.
At a glance
Reaction to the speech
Read what business organisations, pressure groups and trade unions thought about Gordon Brown’s pre-Budget.
Sketch
A sunnier Brown has his critics by the gloat
Not glowering but gloating. Gordon Brown abandoned his habitual doom-laden mien to deliver a sunny vision of a prosperous Britain under his brilliant economic stewardship.
Personal finance
Brown's less than golden rule
In setting so much store by the golden rule, Gordon Brown has created a rod for his own back. In truth it does not matter all that much for the economy whether the rule is observed or not.
