Darling to test public reaction to early election

ALISTAIR Darling, the Chancellor, will deliver his first Pre-Budget Statement on Tuesday. This is earlier than expected, prompting speculation the government might call a general election sooner rather than later. The election date could, of course, depend on voters' reactions to what is proposed next week.

Darling will also report on the outcome of the comprehensive spending review to the House of Commons.

So what can we expect next week and will Darling seek to make his mark by delivering a very different type of statement from those of prudent Gordon?

One thing Darling may be keen to respond to is the vote-grabbing recommendation from the Conservatives that the inheritance tax (IHT) threshold be raised to £1 million from £300,000 (see pages 42-43).

Edinburgh-based insurance company Aegon is predicting that the major issues covered in the report will be tax and trusts, IHT, non-domiciles and pensions.

But it believes it is not clear whether the Tory proposals to substantially raise the nil rate band for inheritance tax will provoke a knee-jerk reaction from the Chancellor.

JUST how much has Northern Rock received from the Bank of England? Simon Ward of New Star, an investment house, estimates the total may now be more than £10 billion.

"Other assets" on the Bank of England's balance sheet - the category that includes the Bank's "lender of last resort" support to Northern Rock - rose by a further £2.9 billion in the week commencing 30 September, following a £4.9bn gain in the previous week.

"Other assets" have now increased by £10.7bn since 12 September, just before the run on the troubled mortgage lender.

Ward said there was speculation that the Bank has been providing covert support to other institutions facing funding difficulties. But this would be at odds with recent evidence from Mervyn King, the Bank's Governor, to the Treasury select committee.

In this he claimed that the Market Abuses Directive of 2005 prevented the Bank from conducting covert "lender of last resort" operations.

MAYBE I'm really mean and heartless, but in recent weeks I've been put off donating to charity.

I had signed a petition to support the cause of one well-known organisation and thought nothing more of it.

That's until my mobile phone starting ringing at all times of the day with "number withheld" flashing up.

I was getting really annoyed as whoever it was calling didn't leave messages and had rung at times when I was at work and it was inconvenient to answer.

When I finally managed to answer one of the calls, it turned out to be the charity I'd given my details to wanting me to sign up to give them money by direct debit.

I said I was too busy to talk and could they phone back another time. Which they did, several times.

When I explained to the rather pushy lad at the other end of the phone that I would rather he sent me some information in the post and I would think about it, he said he would prefer I agreed there and then.

After much insistence on my part, he said that he would send a pack in the post - this never arrived.

Then last week I got a call from a woman at Oxfam who explained that she was getting a small fee for making the call - something the previous correspondent never mentioned.

I explained that I didn't want to give my bank details over the phone, so could they write to me. She then asked did I understand how direct debits work - a question I chose to ignore - and that they were completely safe.

I realise charities need money, but I think there are less aggressive, more effective ways of going about it.