Ed Miliband’s response to the Budget was disastrously bad

John Rentoul cuts through the euphemisms and jargon to decipher the Chancellor's real meaning

'Mixed metaphors have been neglected in recent metaphor research,' according to an academic paper on artificial intelligence by the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham. So I am grateful to Anthony Polson for suggesting this collection.

His standing with the public is dismal, but his reputation grows as the economy does

The UK Independence Party is on course to win the largest share of the vote in elections for the European Parliament in May, according to a ComRes opinion poll for The Independent on Sunday. Nigel Farage's Ukip is in the lead on 30 per cent, two points ahead of Labour, on 28 per cent, with the Conservatives in third place on 21 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on only 8 per cent.

With Cameron away, the Deputy PM laid in to Labour

Jane Penson started this one off with ept and shevelled. 'When I was at boarding school, my friend and I spent hours in the school library with the Oxford Dictionary (12 large dusty volumes) looking for them and we found lots,' she said. Here are my favourites.

The three main party leaders agree on policy, but posture on small measures

It has come to something when not just profit is a dirty word but raising money for charity has become an unethical activity

If Ed Miliband’s reform has cut the power of the union bosses in the Labour Party, why have they agreed to it? That is the question asked by Conservatives, who think that there must be a catch to the rule changes approved yesterday.