Political and economic commentators react to yesterday's Budget.

Times

Anatole Kaletsky warns that Gordon Brown's habit of taking over other policy portfolios may be a strategic error: "The more Mr Brown tries to link the success of economic policies with the challenges of crime, health and education, the easier it will be for the Tories to discredit his economic record."

FT

James Blitz says that what Labour MPs really want is unity between the prime minister and chancellor: "This was a Budget that was sensible rather than spendthrift, one which fell short of the expectations of some Labour MPs that they would see Gordon riding to the rescue of the party's lacklustre election campaign."

Martin Wolf says the Budget was "shrewd", adding: "The debate should be far more over reform of the public services than over how much more or less to spend on them."

Telegraph

Neil Collins and Christopher Fildes warn that the chancellor is continuing to put money into parts of the economy that "don't work".

They said: "Tax credits serve to muddle up what our family man earns, what he pays the state and what the state pays him... a wonderful way to cut the social security budget. It still costs just as much, but you don't see it."

"One bottomless hole in the Midlands marks the Longbridge kennel where Rover sits, chewing on money and surrounded by Labour seats".

Guardian

Jackie Ashley claims the statement was a triumph for Brown's Labour leadership ambitions. "Six months after Blair was thought to have skewered Brown by promising to go on and on, a Brown premiership looks ever more plausible," she says.

But former chancellor Lord Lamont says that while it "gave a glimpse of what a Brown government would be like", the Budget only stored up borrowing problems for the future. "The bottom line is the overall budget deficit now running at 2.6 per cent of GDP. That is low compared with my time in office, but high for a country allegedly with no unemployment and at the top of the cycle," he says.

Independent

Steve Richards says the chancellor got the balance right, with no excessive election bribes. But he would be "very surprised if Mr Blair figured greatly in the chancellor's plans for a shared national British purpose."

Hamish McRae says Brown astutely mixed economics and politics, but warns that tax increases lie ahead.

Sun

Trevor Kavanagh says "grey voters" will not be swayed by Gordon Brown's proposals. "The £200 to help pay bloated council tax bills is as blatant as [election bribes] come," he concludes.

Express

Express political editor Patrick O'Flynn claims Brown "attained the comeback powers of Aslan in the eyes of the average Labour backbencher desperate for some vote-winning arguments".

But he adds that "Budget day is always a difficult experience for Tony Blair... He knows stewardship of the economy is Labour's strongest electoral card, so he has to cheer every announcement like he means it. He also knows his over-mighty chancellor is after his job and may soon get it".

Mirror

Kevin Maguire says the chancellor "went a long way to winning the election for Labour. MPs knocking on doors to ask voters to give the government a third chance now have the ammunition to tempt sceptical supporters back to the polling stations," he said.

Mail

Simon Heffer says yesterday was "a great day for Mr Brown, a tricky day for the Tory party and a bleak day for Tony Blair".

He says the chancellor was clearly preparing the ground for when he becomes leader of the Labour Party.