Last Wednesday, it was a relief to have some certainty about what measures the Chancellor of Exchequer was introducing.
Yet that’s where the sense of relief ended.
I consider it a mixed-bag Budget.
Its main flaw was that it stored up problems for later, rather than containing the "tough decisions" that the Chancellor of the Exchequer claimed.
In my view, there were some positive aspects.
The announcement of a Gambling Tax was a Liberal Democrat win.
We called for this in the wake of the Chancellor’s Budget in 2024, so I am pleased that Rachel Reeves introduced this Lib Dem policy.
At that time, we urged the Government to spend the revenue on social care.
On the expenditure side of the ledger, I am glad that the Government has maintained the triple lock on the state pension.
The triple lock was a Liberal Democrat achievement in Government, and there are many people who don’t have a private pension, and who would struggle without it.
The ‘Father of the House’ is the longest serving MP in the House of Commons.
It is currently Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP, who is aged 75.
He spoke for himself, when he said in the Commons: "We all know that the triple lock is unsustainable."
He may be able to forfeit the annual rise in state pension by the rate of earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
Many older people cannot.
Speaking with older people in Mid- and East Devon, I know that there are many pensioners who are not wealthy, and who could not manage without the triple lock.
As it is, they will struggle once inflation erodes the value of pensions, given that the income tax thresholds have been frozen again.
I recognise the need for targeted spending on healthcare.
As well as supporting people who are infirm, this helps us to have a working age population who are fit to earn, contribute to the economy, and pay taxes.
That said, the £300 million announced for health service technology might not be the miracle cure that the Government thinks it is.
People tell me that they are not enthusiastic about the concept of the "virtual ward"; with greater digital health monitoring at home.
People want to see real wards, with care being delivered by people, not technology.
I am concerned about the sequencing of the additional ‘tax and spend’.
The spending will go largely on the £3 billion cost of scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
Many of the tax rises announced are forecast to kick in between 2028 and 2031, yet the increased spending is due to start almost immediately.
National economies are not the same as household budgets.
Yet prudence is a watchword for both, and we should not spend beyond our means, particularly when it is day-to-day spend, rather than investment.
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