Mark Tran writes: Gordon Brown can be forgiven for chortling with satisfaction today over the latest government borrowing figures. The number-crunching chancellor, currently riding higher in the polls than Tony Blair, has been proven right in his borrowing forecasts for the financial year ending on March 30.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing came to £34.5bn last year, only £100m more than Mr Brown forecast in his March budget.
The chancellor has been regularly criticised by the City for being overoptimistic on tax revenues. But he gets the last laugh. The Treasury coffers in swelled in March, with higher tax receipts, including income tax and corporation tax, helping to keep government borrowing down, just as Mr Brown predicted.
Few voters will be bothered by the finer points of public finances, but the fact that Mr Brown has been proven right in this instance should filter through to the voter in some form and boost his credibility. So Mr Brown is on a roll - but only for now.
Virtually every economist believes that whoever occupies the Treasury after the election will have to raise taxes by about £10bn in order to prevent a serious deterioration in the public finances.
Mark Tran is editor of Guardian Unlimited Business.
