Cantillon: Noonan budget speech already written as UK provides template

As the British election draws closer consider the following Reuters report yesterday on the Tory-led government’s final budget:

British finance minister George Osborne sought to court voters ahead of a May 7th election by pitching an earlier end to austerity, faster economic growth and lower taxes in future.

In his last budget statement before May’s national election, Osborne said prime minister David Cameron’s government had saved Britain’s economy and would bring down national debt earlier than planned with a £20 billion sale of bank assets.

Osborne aimed to blunt criticism from the opposition Labour Party that he was planning to slash back the state to pre-World War Two levels. He is now aiming for a sharply lower budget surplus by the end of the decade than he targeted late last year.

The parallels with the Irish situation are so striking that the same report could well be pre-written in respect of Michael Noonan’s next budget in October, the last before the election here. Simply switch Noonan’s name for Osborne’s, Enda Kenny for Cameron, Fianna Fáil/Sinn Féin for “opposition Labour” and the whole thing coheres more or less.

This is the case right down to Osborne’s sale of bank assets, a reference to his drive to raise £9 billion from Lloyds bank and another £13 billion by selling homeloans held by Northern Rock and Bradford&Bingley. For his part, Noonan is keen to start selling down the State’s stake in Allied Irish Banks.

While the Kenny administration has already declared an end to austerity, a battle with the EU authorities is under way in respect of spending limits. This is where the Coalition is seeking more time from Brussels to bring the public finances to balance at a slower rate than advised by the Europeans.

The similarities as regards the push for lower taxation and pride in “saving Britain” are equally clear -- and they are as attractive to Fine Gael as they are to Joan Burton’s Labour. Come October they might even seek to copy Osborne’s move to increase a levy on the assets of all British banks.

Here's a snippet from Osborne's speech: The deficit down. Growth up. Jobs up. Living standards on the rise. Britain on the rise. This is the budget for Britain. The Comeback Country.

Now, close your eyes and imagine the voice of Noonan.....