I have just watched the Andrew Marr show on TV and it seems that tomorrow we are likely to see Mr Darling announce an immediate 2.5% cut in VAT.

I have analysed my home accounts and I have divided my monthly spending into two areas - those things I spend money on that have no VAT added (eg Council Tax, water, mortgage repayment, food etc) and those that do (eg petrol, DIY stuff etc). That enabled me to work out what a 2.5% cut in VAT would mean to my budget.

It would save me in the region of (wait for it) £13.00 per month.

Like Mr Darling, I really would like to do something to help the economy. But top of my list at the moment is an extra two bottles of Sainsburys Beaujolais Villages a month.

I'm not sure that is what Mr Darling has in mind.

So I'd welcome any suggestions as to how I could best spend my extra £13.00 per month in order to help kick start the UK economy.

What do you suggest that the government do then ?

They still need money coming in to pay for virtually everything - if you were in charge of the countrys finances - what would you do ?

Apart from putting a FULL STOP to the the rising number of immigrants (legal as well as illegal) from rifling through our meagre resources - what does anyone else suggest ?

Reasonable question, even if I'm not actually the one being paid to work out the answer.

First, I wouldn't blame immigrants for the predicament we find ourselves in. The economy is in this mess primarily because of the downright irresponsibility of the banks, secondly the inability (or unwillingness) of the polititicians we elect to tackle the problems that were becoming self evident years ago and thirdly our "accountants" - always willing to indulge in creative bookeeping in order to keep an otherwise bankrupt company from going under.

Ok. Here is what I would do. On principle I wouldn't spread the jam so thinly that it doesn't make a real difference to anybody. So an across the board VAT cut is in my view a non starter - it gives me about £13 a month extra and what is the use of that ?

If VAT is reduced from 17.5% to 15% then petrol prices will fall by about 2p a litre. I expect that would be good news for hauliers, farmers etc - all those people who have high transport costs. So lets keep that benefit ...

What I would do is cut 2p a litre from fuel duty. A cut of 2.5% in VAT will cost the Government £12.5 billion a year. Take the cost of the fuel duty reduction from that and invest the balance in projects that will make a real impact on unemployment - transport infrastructure, social housing projects, erecting flood defences .... whatever.