As much as he would like to blame external forces such as the American banking system for Britain’s financial plight. An end to boom and bust, indeed.

When I think back to all his Budget performances, I see only the lost hours of my life that I will never regain.

He would gabble through Budget statements at breakneck speed only to dwell on the word ‘prudence.’ What tosh it all seems now.

VIDEO: WATCH HOW GORDON GOT IT SO, SO, SO WRONG...

We financial journalists were alive to the prospect of stealth taxes, tweaks on National Insurance, the dusting down of old policies as though they were new and all the other sleight of hand.

But with his smirking master Tony Blair behind him, as Chancellor, Gordon Brown gave an impression of competence. Supporting this was what seemed to be an impressive record of economic growth.

We ...

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