All our case studies have given Alistair Darling's first Budget a rating of between -3 hearts and +3 hearts

Single person, aged 75+

Joyce Anderson, 80, lives in a £1.6 million house in Glasgow, which she and her late husband bought for £16,500 in the 1960s. The grandmother of ten was widowed in 1976 and still draws a salary on the family plant-hire company, which is now run by their sons, aged 52 and 49.

In addition to her salary, she has a state pension and private pension and draws money from a portfolio of savings and investments. She drives a company car, a 1.6-litre Volkswagen Golf.

Background

• Darling's first Budget: the main points

• The Chancellor's speech in full

• Darlings first Budget: the reaction

• Chancellor hits the home budget as his debts soar

• Need to know: Budget 2008

Multimedia

• The winners and losers

Rose-tinted specs fail to offer hope

The obvious justification for Mr Darling’s relatively upbeat scenario is that the outlook is fraught with uncertainty

Multimedia

• Video: the 'fingers crossed' budget

Mrs Anderson says that she has few outgoings. Expenses include an occasional gardener for her two-and-a-half acres and two cleaning girls. She drinks socially, enjoying around two gin-and-tonics a week. She has smoked since she was 14 and now has 10 cigarettes a day.

She gave money to her sons and daughter on her husband's death and has paid school fees for grandchildren aged 5 to 26. "I feel I've done enough for my family. They're all comfortable."

She wanted to see a cut in capital gains tax and felt that stamp duty should be reduced or abolished. "It is crippling for people who want to buy a home. My granddaughter had to pay it."

She says that Blair did "a better job" than Brown. She adds that she has no strong feelings about the Chancellor. "The Budget is not something that worries me. I take things as they come."

IMPACT: Will be £982 better off, saving on income tax and gaining on her state pension and winter fuel allowance. She will, however, spend £20 more on cigarettes and £3 on alcohol.

VERDICT: “There’s a limit to how much I do and spend, so these changes won’t affect me one iota. The additional fuel allowance is something, but overall it wasn’t much of a Budget.

“The extra tax on alcohol makes no difference, but 11p on a packet of cigarettes is a lot. It might stop some people, although I’m in the – possibly unfortunate – position of being able to afford it.”

Darling rating: +1 hearts

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Non-working spouse with two children

David and Amanda Ward live in Carlisle and have two children, Rory, 5, and Naomi, 3.

David works as a senior manager for PriceWaterhouseCoopers and is a higher rate taxpayer. He drives a Honda Accord to work, spending about £400 a month on petrol. “Fuel is one of my biggest expenses,” he says.

Amanda stays at home and looks after the couple’s two children, although is planning on getting back to part-time work soon. The Wards pay £50 a week in nursery fees and have a mortgage of about £100,000, with repayments at £500 a month.

They also have a two-bedroom property in Carlisle, which they rent for £6,000 a year. The new flat rate of capital gains tax, announced in the pre-budget report, means the Wards will pay less tax on the property when they come to sell.

David believes that the cost of living is becoming too expensive. “Electricity, gas and water bills are really going up,” he says. The Wards spend around £400 a month on grocery shopping and £60 on wine and beer.

David says the collapse of Northern Rock will have wide-reaching implications for the region. “It is not just the impact on employment, but also the amount of money the company gave in charity. Carlisle is a very poor place and charities will really miss the money which Northern Rock used to provide.”

Impact: Will be £405 better off. They will benefit from an extra £788 from income tax and £60 from child benefit, although national insurance contributions will make them £417 worse off and they will have to pay an extra £10 on fuel and £16 on alcohol.

Verdict: “Overall I thought the Chancellor came across as being calm and competent, whilst admitting we’re in difficult times. There is so much uncertainty in business and the economy at the moment, especially in the north. The Chancellor mentioned ‘stability’ a lot in his speech but there’s a long way to go before people feel stable here.”

Darling rating: -2 hearts

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Single person with one child

Cheryl Asterley, 46, lives with her 13-year-old son in Hoylake, Merseyside.

She is a case worker for the Youth Justice Service in Liverpool and is a lower rate taxpayer. Her earnings are supplemented by child maintenance from her ex-husband, child benefit and child tax credits.

Cheryl has a £86,000 mortgage on her three-bedroom home, repaying £595 a month. She can not afford to have any savings or to pay into a pension scheme, and she is nearly always overdrawn at the end of the month. She is also paying back two personal loans, costing £438 and £286 a month.

Cheryl wanted the Chancellor to tackle the rising cost of heating her home. “I can’t believe how much energy costs now – we only have the heating on as a last resort. When you read about the profits that these companies are making you can become very cynical.”

Cheryl drives her Nissan Micra through the Mersey tunnel everyday to get to work, which costs her £1.30 each way. “Before I’ve even filled up on petrol, I’ve spent £60 a month just travelling to and from work,” she says.

Although she is eligible for tax credits, Cheryl finds them problematic: “I have had bad experiences with the tax credit system which has made me wary of applying for anymore.

“Last year I was overpaid by £1,000 and I had to suddenly pay back £265, which is money I didn’t have to spare. This year I have only received £27 because of last year’s overpayments.”

Impact: Will be £590 better off. She will benefit from an extra £356 in child tax benefit and an extra £60 a year in child benefit. She will be £151 better off in income tax and £23 better off from National Insurance Contributions.

Verdict: “I’m glad I’ll be receiving more child benefit, but it’s a shame that most of my income boost will come through tax credits. The chances of me actually getting £356 are slim – they’ll probably over or underpay me.

“I’m also disappointed the Chancellor hasn’t done more to tackle fuel poverty for vulnerable households like mine. Also this review into road pricing is worrying – I don’t want to pay even more to use the roads.”

Darling rating: - 2.

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Married couple, aged 75+

Tony and Betty Constable, both 76, live in a £200,000 semi-detached house in Colchester.

The couple receive combined state pensions of £8,325 a year, plus his work pension of £4,534.

Last year, their outgoings exceeded their income. "It looks like we'll have to keep digging into savings," he says. "We may have to give up the family holiday.

"My main wish is to see the pensions system improved beyond measure."

He adds that they have managed to keep the main household bills reasonable by switching providers, but that they have been hit by unforeseen expenses, such as dental work.

He felt strongly that the Government should reinstate the pension link with earnings. He also wanted council tax abolished, fuel tax cut and means-testing scrapped across the board.

The couple have three children aged 40 to 50 and seven grandchildren. "I don't doubt that my grandchildren will have to rent when they marry," he says. "That's how it is now."

"People are encouraged to own a second home and rent it out. Income from that should be taxed at 60 per cent. These people are exploiters."

Mr Constable says that he has been a Socialist all his life but would not vote for New Labour now. "They have deserted everything that Socialism stood for."

He has little faith in the Chancellor. "I don't rate Darling. We have the heaviest taxation anywhere. Where on earth is the money being spent?"

IMPACT: Will be £367 better off. Their winter fuel allowance will increase by £50 to £250 and their state pensions by £322.

VERDICT: “I didn’t expect the extra winter fuel allowance. But they’re just pussyfooting around. I calculated that my cost of living has increased by 25.5 per cent in two years. The £367 increase we’ll get has to be weighed against that.”

Darling raiting: -1 heart

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Single person with no children

Chris Dawson, 26, lives in Gateshead.

He works as a Business Development Manager for NHS Direct, earning almost £30,000 a year. As part of his job, Chris spends almost £200 a month on unleaded petrol driving his Ford Fiesta. He gets £110 back a month under a mileage expenses scheme which sees him compensated 18p per mile. “In the public sector they haven’t adjusted the mileage rates since petrol was 70p a litre. Now its over £1 a litre and the 18p a mile rate we get is not enough.”

Chris bought a one bedroom flat three and a half years ago for £85,000, and re-mortgaged last Summer onto an Abbey two year fixed-rate deal at 6.59 per cent, with payments of £485 a month.

He spends £100 a month on beer, mainly lager. He voted Conservative in the last election, and would probably vote Conservative again. “Labour weren’t being very fair to people who work. I used to work at Business Link and people with small business used to complain that the balance was against them. I’m not against helping those who actually need it, but there is also a difference between being unwell and just lazy.”

Chris doesn’t blame Alistair Darling for the current economic woes, and isn’t too worried about the impact of an economic downturn on his own finances. “You can see the economy starting to shake. I was aware I was probably buying near the peak of the market when I bought my flat. I’m not too worried though. I don’t want prices to fall too much but it’s clearly heading for a correction.”

IMPACT: Chris will be better off by £229 a year, due to the fall in basic rate income tax to 20 per cent and the scrapping of the 10 per cent band. The 4p increase on a pint of lager will cost Chris £25 a year.

VERDICT: “I expected the cost of alcohol to increase. I read statistics every day about the impact of alcohol usage on A+E services, but the problem with taxing alcohol is that you are hitting everyone. I don’t know why Darling wants to investigate 25 year fixed-rate mortgages – over that length of time your situation changes so much. I think short terms are much better. I’m definitely pleased that he has delayed the extra 2p cost on fuel. Our mileage rate is so low. ”

Darling rating +1 heart

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Couple, both working, with two children

Emma, 33, and Steve Hammond, 35, have two children, Sophie, 4, and James, 2. They live in Chipstead, Surrey in a five bedroomed detached house.

Steve works full time as an IT consultant and is a higher rate taxpayer. Emma does some sales consultancy work and her earnings fall within her personal allowance.

Their mortgage is a five year fixed rate deal. Steve is in favour of long-term fixed rates, because he feels they stabilise the economy. “I would definitely consider taking out a 10-year deal as long as the exit penalties were not high,” he says.

They receive child benefit for Sophie and James and top up their child trust funds to the maximum limit each year in order to gain tax-free savings for when the children turn 18.

Steve and Emma have written a will and had set up a discretionary trust to plan for their children’s inheritance tax.

Steve says: “The new rules announced in the pre budget report – allowing the transfer of the nil-rate band – makes this trust rather worthless, but it’s still good to see any move that simplifies and reduces inheritance tax bills.”

Steve drives a BMW M5 and Emma drives a Voltswagon Sharon. They drink about five bottles of wine a week.

“Although we have a weakness for cars, we do our bit for the environment in other ways,” says Emma. “We always recycle and I use reusable carrier bags at the supermarket.”

IMPACT: Will be £210 better off. They will get an extra £60 in child benefit and will be £788 better off in income tax. But they will be £497 worse off in National Insurance contributions and will be paying an extra £105 for their cars and £36 for alcohol.

VERDICT: Emma says: “I think it’s great that shops will have to start charging for plastic bags – people should be encouraged to reuse them. But to be honest a tax of £100 or £200 would not put me off buying a higher-polluting car.

“An extra £60 a year in child benefit is helpful but it won’t go very far, especially for lower income households.”

Darling rating – 1 heart

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Sinlge person, aged 65-74

Rita Young, 72, was widowed in 2004 and lives in a housing association bungalow in Peterborough.

The retired PA lives on a state pension and pension credit totalling £140.51 a week. "It's not enough to live on," she says. "You can have that for lunch."

She has no further income, savings or investments. She spends £79 a month on electricity and gas and £30 on broadband. She says that energy bills are a burden and that she expects imminent price rises. "The winter fuel allowance is an absolute disgrace."

She drives a 1.4 litre Vauxhall Corsa and spends £40 a month on petrol. Her son Colin, 51, lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife and daughter. She would like to emigrate to join them there, but fears that the cost of healthcare overseas could be prohibitive in the event of illness.

Mrs Young says that the state pension is inadequate. She wanted the Chancellor to introduce a "proper living wage" before 2012. She also wanted means-testing scrapped for pension credits.

"I want a fair crack of the whip for low-income people. Older people, especially widows, are living hand-to-mouth. It would be nice to be able to take a friend out to lunch."

She is not sure how to vote and says that she would like to see "a return to Old Labour". She adds that she is not keen on Alistair Darling. "He is underhand," she explains.

IMPACT: Will be £305 better off. Mrs Young’s winter fuel allowance will increase from £200 to £250 and her pension and pension credits will rise by £260.

VERDICT: “He’s not my Darling. He should collect his plastic bags and leave. My fuel bill is about £1,000 a year, so what good is an extra £50? It’s a drop in the ocean. The extra £305 a year overall is rubbish. Pensioners still live on a shoestring. Him talking about lower tax for people with low-emission cars is an absolute joke – my generation can’t afford new cars.”

Darling rating: -2 hearts

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Couple, both working, with no children

Kevin Hogarth, 28, and Jessica Guest, 19, live in Throckley in Newcastle.

They are both lower-rate taxpayers and have recently bought a two bedroomed house for £100,000. Their mortgage repayments, which are currently interest-only, are £450 a month.

Jess is a support worker, visiting the homes of people with learning difficulties. Kevin works as a sales consultant in Carphone Warehouse during the day and is self-employed on weekend evenings as a singer and entertainer. He earns an extra £250 per week by singing hits from the 60s and 70s in working men’s clubs.

Kevin drives a Rover and has to drive as far as Carlisle and Middlesbrough for his gigs. He spends about £30 a week on petrol, which he claims back on his tax return.

Kevin and Jess have no pension and no savings at the moment, since all their money went on their house deposit. Between them, they drink two bottles of wine and 12 pints of lager a week.

Kevin votes Labour, and doesn’t personally blame Darling for the problems facing the economy. He says: “I think Darling has had a rough time lately – the Northern Rock crisis was not his fault, but he did ok sorting it out in the end. A lot of problems have been caused by banks’ irresponsible lending and he is in a difficult position at the moment.”

IMPACT: Will be £34 worse off. Kevin will be paying £5 extra on his car and £15 extra on alcohol. Although Kevin will be £70 better off in income tax, Jess will actually be £130 worse off. They will both be £23 better off in National Insurance Contributions.

VERDICT: “It does seem really unfair that Jess, as a lower earner, will be hit hard by the income tax changes. I also really object to the increased fuel duty, even if it is delayed until October, because we pay enough as it is.

“There will never be much offered to two working people without children, but it’s right that low-income families should be getting the most benefits,” says Kevin.

Darling rating: + 1 heart

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Married couple, aged 65-74

Frank Beevers, 65, and his wife Dorothy, 66, own a 3-bedroom detatched house worth £350,000 in Bexley, Kent.

He is a retired newspaper photographer and she worked in administration for the same company. They live on the state pension and two private pensions - hers very small.

They have some savings and a small number of shares.

The couple's main concern for the Budget is fuel duty. They take their diesel motorvan out for 100-mile drives most weekends and for 500-mile round-trips each summer. It does 26 miles to the gallon. In addition, they share a 1200cc Fiat Punto, which does 7,000 to 8,000 miles a year.

Neither smokes, but at weekends they enjoy an evening drink with fellow motor touring enthusiasts. He has around five pints a week, while she has two vodkas with bitter lemon.

As well as driver-friendly policies, Mr Beevers wanted a cut in capital gains tax. "Inheritance tax is also a concern. We have no intention of letting the Government take anything. We worked hard for what we have."

He adds that they do not have a clue who they will vote for. "I have voted for all the main parties before. I liked the look of Cameron, but unfortunately he has gone rapidly downhill.

"Darling is never going to be as good a Chancellor as Brown was."

IMPACT: Will be £446 better off, receiving increased state pensions, extra winter fuel allowance and a smaller income tax bill. They will pay £10 more on road tax and £9 on alcohol duty, however.

VERDICT: “There’s nothing in this Budget for me. At the end of the day, we’ll break even. The extra fuel allowance will slightly offset petrol, I suppose.

“I’m relieved that he has delayed the 2p rise in fuel duty. He can’t have had the nerve to go ahead. Of course, he didn’t need to add it in the first place.

“Overall, I wasn’t impressed. The Chancellor could’ve done more for the elderly.

Darling score: -1 heart

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Single person with two children

Shelley Prescott, 44, works as an English teacher at Walker Technology College in Newcastle.

She lives in North Tyneside with her two teenage daughters, Lucy, 15 and Harriot, 14. Although Shelley contributes £191 a month into a teachers pension, she expects her retirement income to come mainly from her home, which has increased in value from £78,000 to £190,000 in five years. “Nowadays all you have is your home, in my opinion. My whole objective is to pay off the mortgage on my house and then sell it 20 years down the line and downsize.”

Shelly is paying of a home loan of £98,000, after remortgaging her four-bedroom detached house to pay for her divorce seven years ago. She now pays £695 a month to clear the Bank of Ireland variable rate deal.

Shelley drives a Honda Jazz and spends £15 a week on petrol. She doesn’t have any savings because she finds that all her money goes on day to day expenses and bills. “I really hope that Mr Darling tackle the costs of utilities.”

She is also worried about paying for both her daughter’s university fees. “My eldest daughter asked me if I had a university fund for her, because her other friend’s parents had started savings. I had to tell her that I didn’t. I’m terrified about how I’m going to pay for it all.”

IMPACT: Shelley will be £390 better off overall a year. The changes in tax and national insurance means she will be £350 better, while child benefit increases will mean she gets an extra £60 from the government. A rise in car tax and on alcohol duty means she looses £20.

VERDICT: “My first thought is ‘thank you Darling!’. It is excellent that the changes will benefit me by £390, and it will compensate for the cost of rising energy bills. I’m not surprises that they will put extra tax on fuel but delaying the rise until October gives us all a little bit more breathing space.”

“I think that 25 year mortgages are a good idea, provided they remain good value for money for people. It would help people plan the finances and really help younger people.”

Darling rating: +1.5 hearts

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Married, both working, with one child

Gary Tullins, 38, and his wife Sonja, 32, have a three-year-old daughter Libby.

They live in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Gary is a financial planner and a higher rate taxpayer, whilst Sonja is a part time operations manager. They have a mortgage with Nationwide for £130,000 and pay £900 a month.

The Tullins pay £380 a month in nursery fees through salary sacrifice schemes offered by their employers, and claim 12 nursery hours free from the Government.

Gary drives his 2 litre BMW about 800 miles a month for work. He receives 11p a mile from work and claims another 43p a mile via his tax return.

Gary believes Darling made a mess of the Northern Rock crisis, and now needs to establish his creditability. “He shouldn’t have nationalised Northern Rock – every one of us is now going to be picking up the debt. I think he was badly damaged by the whole thing.

“But then Cameron and the Conservatives don’t seem to have much about them either. I don’t have much time for any politicians, to be honest.”

The Tullins drink about eight bottles of wine a month.

IMPACT: Will be £1,034 better off. Gary will benefit by £788 and Sonja by £150 from changes to income tax, and £57 and £25 respectively from changes to National Insurance Contributions. They will also receive an extra £36 in child benefit, although they will pay £15 more for alcohol and £5 more on their car.

VERDICT: “Obviously we’ve done very well from the reduced rate of basic income tax. It’s just a shame that very low earners and pensioners will be hit hardest by the abolition of the 10 per cent starting rate.

“Darling was never going to shine today. The country has been badly run for the past ten years and the effects of the credit crunch means he is very limited in which he can do. Most of the changes, including income tax, had already been announced in the pre budget report anyway.”

Dalring rate: - 1

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Non-working spouse, with no children

Bruce Wass, 58, and his wife Gwyneth, 64, own The Jolly Sportsman pub and restaurant in East Chiltington, East Sussex.

Bruce runs the business and works in the kitchen, although Gwyneth also occasionally helps out. The Jolly Sportsman is run as a limited company, with a turnover of £650,000 and gross profits of £72,000. Last year Bruce and his wife took a dividend payment of £50,000.

He employs four full-time chefs, three full-time front of house staff and another eight part-time workers.

Bruce is worried about the impact of a possible increase in corporation tax on his business. “I’m also concerned about them raising national insurance contributions for employers. The wages take up about 33 per cent of our operating costs.”

Bruce is happy with the way the economy has been managed over the last ten years. “I have been able to pay mortgage off early” he says.

The couple have paid off their mortgage, although they do have a large deposit on their bank account. Bruce drives about 8000 miles a year in a 21-year-old Mercedes S-class. Neither spouse smokes, but they spend £30 a week on wine and £10 on beer.

Bruce thinks that Alistair Darling has done an okay job so far, and agreed with his nationalising Northern Rock because it was “the right thing to do was to protect the savings of ordinary people.”

IMPACT: Will be £775 a year worse off, spending £720 more on corporation tax, £50 more on their personal alcohol consumption and £5 more on road tax

VERDICT: "This was much the same as any other Budget of the past 20 years - they rarely do a great deal.

"We'll have to try to find money to cover the increased corporation tax. But it was positive that he put back the extra 2p on fuel duty for six months. We spend so much on petrol.

"The increase in alcohol excise duty won't make a difference to us. If customers want a glass of wine or a pint, they'll pay."

Darling rating: +1 heart

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Non-dom

Alessandro Crivelli, 45, is an Italian real-estate investor who has non-dom status in the UK. He has been based in London for two years and lives in Knightsbridge.

He believes that Alistair Darling’s decision to go ahead with changes to the way non-domiciles are taxed is unwise, and sends out the wrong message. “Rather than promoting the idea of people investing in the UK, Alistair Darling is making it more complicated and less attractive for people. I pay taxes on all the money I make in the UK and contribute to the economy. But I do not think I should be taxed on the money I have made in the Italy, which I have already paid tax on. It is unfair.”

Alessandro says London is a great compromise between the US, where his wife is based, and Italy, where his children live.

He believes that the damage inflicted by tax changes for non-doms will not be limited to those working in the City. “I think it will be interested to see what happens with to the art market in London. It was one of the reasons that I moved to London, but I think that if they are considering taxing people for bring art into the UK, these people will go elsewhere in the world.”

Although he disagrees with the new plans for non-doms, Alessandro wants to stay in the UK for up to ten years, and accepts that in five years he will pay the £30,000 required to continue to enjoy his special tax status and his London lifestyle. “I won’t move abroad yet. I am not in London for tax reasons. For from it – the tax regime in Italy is quite fantastic. People choose London because people love London.”

IMPACT: Alessandro will not be eligible to pay the tax for another five years, after which he will pay the annual charge of £30,000

VERDICT: “We will all definitely be worse off. I really think that Mr Darling is moving in the wrong direction.”

Darling rating -1

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