The fiscal shambles awaiting the next government is so bloody that the Conservatives could be forgiven for wondering whether they really want to win the general election, due no later than June 2010. It also casts doubt on whether George Osborne will in fact be able to fill the gaping hole in the public finances through lower spending rather than higher taxes, as he would prefer to do. The problem the shadow chancellor of the exchequer faces is that Alistair Darling has got there first. Despite his tax raid on the rich revealed in the budget on April 22nd, the chancellor is relying mainly on spending curbs to start mending the public finances once the recession is over.
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