Yesterday’s Budget speech didn’t go down as the most exciting in
history - rather than introducing brave new proposals the chancellor
played it safe, tinkering with existing policies. Nonetheless, if you
drink, smoke, drive, work or are retired, want to save or try to take
your first step on the property ladder, the contents of Alistair
Darling’s first Budget speech will have an impact on your wallet.

This special edition of the Moneywise newsletter brings you up to date
with what happened in yesterday’s speech and outlines how those changes
will effect you.

Rebecca Atkinson provides a handy round up of the major announcements
and takes a closer look at what the speech meant for first-time buyers,
Nathalie Bonney outlines how personal taxes have changed, while Hannah
Ricci looks at the green measures proposed by the chancellor. Rhian
Nicholson reveals what the government has in store for family finances
and Jeff Salway reports on Darling’s economic summary.

No doubt you’ll have strong feelings on some of Alistair Darling’s
speech. With the UK’s pension system in crisis, I personally thought
the government’s decision to top up the winter fuel allowance was one
of the worst through policies I’ve seen in some time. As more people –
not just pensioners – struggle to pay ever increasing energy bills, the
government should be looking at long-term solutions, rather than just
blindly throwing money at everyone to who has reached the age of 60.

You can share your views in our forums or if you’ve got more to say why not write your own blog?