Budget 2011: Guardian columnists' verdict | The panel

From the deficit to green issues, did George Osborne's budget deliver?

Jackie Ashley: Welfare

What a brave new world George Osborne promised for small businesses, entrepreneurs and city whizz-kids. His budget speech fizzed with new measures to reduce regulation and encourage investment – well, no one denies we need more jobs. But as he hailed "the march of the makers", "start-up Britain" and "the home of enterprise", I was reminded of that speech Neil Kinnock made back in 1983, warning of the d...