I’ll jump straight in – for this probably won’t be a popular post – but I think that overall and considering how bad the country’s debts are, that was a fair budget. Is it right to freeze child allowance for three years? No, I don’t suppose it is. What about the VAT hike – well it will hit the poorest the hardest, no doubt. So there are some negatives in there, I accept.

But overall this was fair. Osborne has given some money back to the poor via the child element in the tax credit system and also by raising the threshold before one would pay income tax. So some checks and balances – probably because the Lib Dems applied the breaks.

It’s fair because we’re in a mess and the debt needs paying off. There could have been other things that could have been scrapped – Trident for one. So again I would have made some different choices.

But here’s why I say these cuts and tax rises had to be made and why it is fair that all have to pay their share: we all enjoyed the benefits of Labour’s spending. No one was complaining when the new schools and hospitals were built; no one was out protesting when the waiting times for ops came tumbling down; no one (in Wales) howled with anger when prescription charges were dropped. And when the banks failed we were all pretty relieved when our savings were made safe by the billions pumped into the system by the government. Many families also received large amounts of extra money through the tax credit system.

As Alistair Darling said on the radio this morning, we borrowed money in order to invest; for years we were spending money we didn’t have. Now we have to pay it back. It will be tough for many; very tough for some. But next time a government starts turning the cash taps back on – let’s all remind them of the consequences before we dig ourselves into another hole.