Weighing all the options

What he may do: 1. Tax bands and allowances to rise by 10-20 per cent.

2. Tax relief for the sandwich class.

3. One per cent more in real terms on welfare spending.

4. More money for sewage disposal scheme.

5. Tougher monitoring of Government spending.

What he won't do: 1. No major adjustments to the tax system.

2. No big new increase in recurrent spending.

3. No retirement protection fund.

4. No civil service pension fund.