After a budget that raises taxes, proposes huge borrowing and sets out an austere future of spending cuts, Britain's Labour government and its finance minister came in for a roasting in the press on Thursday.
"They've ruined Britain," the Daily Express tabloid blared on the front page, criticising Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his finance minister Alistair Darling for the austere document, which announced borrowing this year of 175 billion pounds.
The Daily Mail described the finance minister as "Alistair in Wonderland" for the projections underpinning the budget, including a belief that growth will rebound next year after the economy shrinks by 3.5 percent this year.
"Alistair Darling has gambled Britain's future on a 1970s-style tax raid against the rich and a wildly optimistic forecast of economic recovery," the newspaper said.
As well as the chancellor's hopeful growth forecasts, it was a new, high rate of income tax that came in for most criticism. The budget introduces a 50 percent tax band on the lucky few earning more than 150,000 pounds ($275,000) a year.
"That's Rich!" declared The Independent newspaper, saying the Labour government, in power since 1997, had turned its back on the economic orthodoxy it has pursued for the past 12 years.
"PM tears up New Labour script with 50p tax rate for highest earners," the paper said.
"In what was called a 'going for broke' budget, the chancellor breached New Labour's election manifesto pledges since 1997 not to raise the 40p top rate of income tax.
"CLASS WAR"
Two of the most popular broadsheet newspapers, the Daily Telegraph and the Times, were equally dismissive of the budget — and where it leaves Labour's prospects in an election due next year — while taking very different tacks.
"Return of class war" announced the right-of-centre Telegraph, decrying the new rate of tax, which would make Britain one of the highest taxing countries in the European Union.
"It's the death of New Labour, say Tories" it wrote, in a nod to the opposition Conservatives, who are widely expected to win the election, which has to be held by June 2010.
The Times was more subtle in its front page, showing a cartoon of Darling with his face and eyebrows turning red below a banner headline reading: "Red all over" in reference to the high borrowing figures.
The Guardian newspaper, traditionally closer to Labour, was less dismissive of the budget in general, but still portrayed it as a gamble for Darling.
"Darling's great squeeze," read the main headline, the paper noting that spending will be tighter than it was in the 1980s under former Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher.
Only one newspaper was generally positive about the budget. Left-leaning tabloid The Mirror declared "Robin Good" next to a picture of Darling looking like Robin Hood, praising him for raising taxes on the rich "to help the poor".
The most light-hearted headline came in The Sun, the country's most widely read newspaper.
Below lots of sad yellow faces pointing out the higher taxes, slumping growth and soaring borrowing, the newspaper printed a banner headline saying: "At least it's sunny", a nod to this week's warm spring weather.
