I've written a new think piece on Alistair Darling's pre-budget report, arguing that his so-called 'stimulus package' is really just a manifesto for wasteful and ineffective spending increases, record levels of government borrowing and public debt, and higher taxes in the long term. I suggest that Darling should instead have announced a substantial rise in the personal allowance to put more money in the private sector economy, and balanced that with public spending restraint.

Click here to read the whole piece, which comes in at just over 1000 words. We haven't published many think pieces this year, but they are something we are hoping to do more of in 2009.