British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown seemed to do a decent job of keeping more or less everyone happy with the provisions announced in his fourth budget.

The mix combined hefty spending increases on health and education to keep the loyalists happy and caution on tax cuts to appease the fears of the financial institutions and authorities about his management of the economy. There has also been some enterprising targeting of initiatives on small business and new technology.

Spare a thought though for those people waiting for those elements that will enhance take-home pay to kick in. It is bad enough here when provisions announced in December only take effect the following April at the earliest - a gap of four months. In Britain, people will have to wait until April of next year to feel many of the benefits, almost 13 months away. The same can't be said for the pain. The substantial rise in tax on petrol and cigarettes kicks in immediately.

The mandarins at the Department of Finance must be kicking themselves for missing that revenue-generating timescale.