ELECTION: George Osborne’s Budget was accused of short-termism yesterday for being all about winning the general election and doing nothing to address the significant challenges facing Britain.

The Chancellor has constantly trumpeted the Conservatives’ so-called “long-term economic plan” sloganeering in a shameless bid to get his Tory party re-elected in May.

But his tactic was ripped apart by STUC general secretary Grahame Smith, who argued the opposite was true.

He said: “This Budget was clearly designed to meet the political challenge of the forthcoming general election rather than the significant economic and social challenges facing the UK.”