Derek you write "Why doesn't this black eyebrowed burglar enforce every old aged pensioner to hand their pensions direct to the government, together will all the bills that they have to meet and get them to make ends meet on behalf of those who have worked all their lives,"
This is what they do This government really can spend our money better than we know how to. They even say that we must educate our children in money management. A bit rich considering Labours record of borrowing and fudging figures ff the balance sheet.
No wonder history started in 1997

andy, petersfield,

Maybe the planet needs more CO2 in order to prevent the next ice age?One thing is for certain ,however,the budget will have no effect on what happens to the temperature of the planet,not even 0.00000°C

stephen hulton, eure, france

As a couple of 75 year old pensioners we really can no longer afford to run the car without turning the heating well down or giving up at least one meal each day. Why doesn't this black eyebrowed burglar enforce every old aged pensioner to hand their pensions direct to the government, together will all the bills that they have to meet and get them to make ends meet on behalf of those who have worked all their lives, in our cases since the age of fourteen, to live without financial worry.

Derek Clifton, Andover, Hampshire, England

seems a bit oxymoronic bringing in green budget and coal fired power at the same time.

Robin, Cardiff,

Punish the motorist as usual. Why no windfall tax on the profits of rip-off energy companies?

Richard, Bexhill, uk

Once again this "Labour" Government gives way to the rich at the expense of the poor.

Dean, Southampton, England

I was just in Norway where the petrol price was around 10% higher than in Britain however professionals earn around twice as much. If I am not mistaken the rise in petrol prices has already provided the inland revenue with a much need boost in the form of VAT. Another step forward for forward thinking goverment.

It is wonderful to live in the Country and get routinely penalised for it.

John, Egremont,

Alistair Darling resign now and do everyone a favour. You want less people on the roads, then raise the driving age to 21 and re-test those over 65. Our goverment is a laughing stock to the rest of the world.

carla, wales, uk

Darlings going green tax is nothing to do with the envirement
but another scam to fill his coffers with more money from the
hard pushed motorists to cut the governments ever increasing
debts
Clive Yorkshire

Clive J Marshall, Driffield, Yorkshire

Same old Labour Rubbish let's hit the Car owner and the people wholike a Pint or dropof Spirits or Wine. This budget is no different to any other except that it is now in the cause of the Environment nothing to do with the mismanagement this shower in Westminster over the last Ten Years. Amateurs and Cowboys running this Country the Highest Taxed in the World andf we stand for it .

AMAC, St.Austell, Cornwall

I can't believe how corrupt the government is! Heavily penalising drivers for not being green enough, but conspiring to put a heavily polluting new terminal on Heathrow. Get them out! How can we be lied to and manipulated on a regular basis by such underhand politians.

Nigel Purvis, Newtownards, Down

...and then there are those of us who contibute to the rural economy who need 4x4's as the roads are so poor. Especially in the winter when conditions are very "uncity" like. There is no public transport and we pay over the top for fuel in anycase. Does the chancellor want us all to abandon food production and the infrastructure that goes with it? Or will the countryside become one big commuter belt for fat cats who can afford the houses and the 4x4's that go with them...who will manage the land is another story... Our kids cannot afford to live in the areas they were born in....Times they are a changeing...but don't think we all live in cities. Onesize does not fit all.

Dr Chris Hoyle, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria

Sounds like another classic piece of spin. Tax increases presented as green, but of course pitched at a level to ensure behaviour is unchanged, because it is essential that revenue rises

Dr David Jenkins, Weybridge, UK

Its about time the people got together and really brought the Country to its knees, Fuel blockades, hauliers and coach companies refusing to go in to London, cigarette manufacturers threatening to move production to Pro smoking countries and so on and so forth, everyones unhappy with whats happening but being British we just let the goverment get on with it, and what do we do? we'll have a little grumble in the pub !!!!!!!

Ken S, SEDGEFIELD, COUNTY DURHAM

Non-Residents will not pay tax? Does that mean that the under paid, over worked servicemen and women will be exempt tax when serving overseas?

Jase, Ipswich, UK

Going Green is nu labours way of raising taxes.... Work it out.

John, Essex, UK

I'm feeling rather taxed right now an fed up with all the new ways that labour has conjured for us to pay for their 'war mistake' undercover.
Bring the troops home as we aren't getting any of the moolah anyway...the good ole ally has kept it all for themselves.
Halliburton wins, UK loses.
Not only that, we are also paying for their sodding housing collapse.....
Where will our costly sucking up end?

pazz, London, UK

No other government would raise taxes to such a level that necessities like a car and fuel are virtually out of reach to thousands of the population.

It is using its socialist dogma to create higher taxes in a never ending round of squeezing vulnerable sections of the population.

Just wait until the elections. Then they will realize the effects of what they have done. But it will ge too late for many of us.

howard, london,

So much for Parliament then....yet again under this Government, the Chancellor is using the Press to announce his "positive" budget changes to allow time for the spin to work prior to his standing up in the House.

Please can we have the small print also because that is where they always hide the stealth taxes........

Tony, London,

Taxing fuel is a disgrace, using 'green' excuses for it is immoral, but typical of government. If they want to reduce fuel consumption they should ration suel and let the people decide what vehicle they want to use it on.

Mike Poulsen, Reading, Berkshire

Over the past year, anecdotal evidence for a cooling planet has exploded. China has its coldest winter in 100 years. Baghdad sees its first snow in all recorded history. North America has the most snow cover in 50 years, with places like Wisconsin the highest since record-keeping began. Record levels of Antarctic sea ice, record cold in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Greece, South Africa, Greenland, In the Southern Hemisphere Sydney had it's coldest summer for 50 years, there were record snow falls in Argentina and Chile -- the list goes on and on.

No more than anecdotal evidence, to be sure. But now, that evidence has been supplanted by hard scientific fact. All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA's GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data. All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously by an average of 0.5 degrees C. In fact, There has been NO warming for a decade.

Ken Hall, Barrow in Furness, UK

So Darling is easing restrictions on taxation of foreign nationals who earn their money here. Why, then, is he pursuing British taxpayers who earn money overseas and never bring it into the UK?
Double standards, double dealing and double talk - in short, a politician

KR, Stockport,

Tax 'em a bit
Then Tax 'em some more
Tax 'em till they're dead
Then Tax 'em some more

But if you're too idle to work, here - have a house, nice school places and plenty of benefits - afterall we've got plenty of Tax money to dish out.

Bry Barnes, Somerset, Uk

Why does Darling think non-doms pay tax in the USA, but not here? Because it is much lower there! Punitive taxation will always make those who can move elsewhere - there is no citizen duty to pay as much tax as you can. It's your right and duty to yourself to pay as little tax as you legally can. Tax avoidance is a good thing - tax evasion is illegal.

As to taxing gas guzzlers, there is a 300% tax and duty rate on petrol in the UK - as big cars use more than small cars, isn't that enough tax? Let's ignore the 17.5% of the price of the car which goes to the government when you buy it, and the annual road tax disc.

Budget Day is simply a day on which the government increases taxes, which increases both the cost of living and doing business, both of which harm the economy. This year it may be increasing transportation taxes, but then it always does! How does putting taxes up make them 'green'?

Tim Brookshaw, Atlanta, GA, USA

Interesting how the Carbon Budget will be run by the Treasury and not the Department of the Environment.

Simply another tax and not a green initiative at all.

Brown and Darling are stranling the life out of the general population of this country with their tax and spend regime.

Salty, Reading,

Mark D says it all, theres nothing else I could add......

Ian, Birmingham,

Congratulations to Mark Stratford in what I'm sure the majority of the nation thinks and feels. How long before there are riots on the streets?
Remember 'The Prisoner@series from the '60's'?, I'm not a number,!!! well thats all we are to Herr Brown! we are not people, nor are we 'Human beings' we are just numbers!!

DARK MAN Mr Brown, who just loves to hide in corners and blame everyone else, quite suprised that the Army hasn't mutinied yet as they almost did in Harold Wilson's reign.

Embrace our Forces personnel when they come home, most of whom are on the minimum wage putting their lives on the line for what? We may need these people sooner than we think!!

Robert Hesselden, Darlton, Notts

The new 'Gas-Guzzler' is not the Roller, Bentley, Merc, BMW... but a sensible family car for ordinary famililies. Which is why this government does so much to undermine families. If there is no next generation please tell me where the taxes in the future will come from?

Alan, Luton,

What is this Global warming?
It is an event which comes around every so many hundreds of years, it is the planet earth which is alive and we contribute such a small amount that its not even worth mentioning.
The truth is that we are as a planet, Cooling down! not heating up, but heh ho! lets just panic everyone into thinking that we, that WE as a race can control nature , It's laughable!! and it's arrogant,especially when we should take hold of facts such as, If we were 1000 miles closer to the Sun, we would fry!!, 1000 miles further away we would be covered in ice!!
Now WHO planned that one?
Answer that yourselves!!

Robert Hesselden, Darlton, Notts

Same old socialists. Here we have a downturn in the economy caused by their slow but sure strangulation of a competitive economy. The answer - strangle it more, more, more.......

Because they know how to spend our money better than we do of course. Billions spent on a giant, meddling, spying, bureacracy. ID cards, child tax credit fiasco, inquiries by the million, quangos for fairness, cctv, speed cameras, police filling out hours of paperwork, councils snooping in your house, remote cctv parking tickets, fingerprinting my children, financing their expenses, DNA for innocent people, .......... and on and on and on. Oh yeah, and while their quango officials enjoy their jolly trips and lunches, they let our troops die from lack of equipment. I'm definitely joining the looming mass protest.

Mark D, Stratford, GB

I just find it amazing - I'm visiting New Zealand and Australia at the moment and in bothe the price of petrol and diesel is cheaper than the UK. Fuel pricing and taxing is an absolute scandal in the UK.

Ian, Bristol,

To quote an old song. 'Move over Darling'.

Roger, Surrey,

once again, the world moves on...

george bull, bloomington , indiana usa