I am tap tap tapping this out as the Commons votes on the hike in VAT to 20%.

Andrew George and Bob Russell are Lib Dems who are unhappy with this and have tabled an amendment which, predictably, is not going to be called.

They want a review of the impact of the VAT increase on those on low incomes. But why do we need a review? The answer is obvious.

We all know that VAT is a regressive tax, hitting those on low incomes hardest.

So why don’t they vote against the Budget to make their point? Maybe they will.

I’d like to see a Budget impact assessment, constituency by constituency.

So that people who voted Conservative and Lib Dem last month know precisely what is in store for them.

In Pendle there are 16,400 people on the State pension. No particular horrors yet for this group but those approaching retirement have been given a bit of a shock. Deferring the State pension for a year at 65 is no laughing matter.

In Pendle, there are 4,900 people on Pension Credit.

11,700 getting Child Benefit which is to be frozen for three years.

10,400 get Child or Working Tax Credit.

6,900 are on Housing Benefit, now targeted by the Coalition.

And 5,500 on Disability Living Allowance. They hold their breath.

We are not all in it together.

Some are in it deeper than others.

Check out the figures nation wide in this useful House of Commons Library note on Benefits and Tax Credit Recipients by Area (pdf).