A NOTE left by the former chief secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, joking there was no money left has been used by the Tories to highlight the profligacy of The Labour Party before it left office.

But the Coalition’s pledge to eradicate the budget deficit - the difference between Government spending and income - in one five-year term has failed and widespread Coalition cuts have barely halved it

With Thursday’s General Election centring on the economy, who does the public trust to control the country’s purse strings?

In Durham City, voters appeared to lean towards tradition political loyalties, with an overriding Labour Party bias, amid a general mistrust of both the major players.

Electrician Fred Donaldson, 63, from Seaham, said: “Having had my pit shut down by Thatcher and been on strike for a year I have always been on the Labour side of things but do I trust any of them?

“They are great before an election about what they can do but then there is caveats about what they can get in. I would probably put my X next to Labour.”

John Patterson, 58, who is unemployed and from Gilesgate, Durham, also favours the Reds but admits he is being swayed towards favouring Nigel Farage’s party.

He said: “It would have to be Labour for me out of the main two. The Tories are trying to cut all the way along the line. I do not trust them at all. I will give Labour one more go and that is it. I fancy UKIP but I know they will get nowhere in this election.”

Martin Kennedy, 48, an NHS worker, from Consett, is so disillusioned he has not voted in 30 years.

He said: “I think they are just as bad as each other so I do not bother to vote. I maybe sway towards Labour being a North-East lad, but I have no faith in any of them.”

Mark Cowan, 53, HGV driver, from Washington, feels the best chance at clearing the deficit was voted out in 2010.

He said: “I think the Labour Party will do well. It is just a shame it is not with Gordon Brown who would have sorted it out. I know his charisma was not the best but in terms of intelligence he was the person to do it. I do not trust the Tories. The money is coming out of the working class man’s pocket and going to the wealthy.”

But there was some hope for the Tories in the traditional Labour constituency from Durham University student Jonathan Dearden-Williams, 19, from Chester.

He said: “I don’t trust Labour because they want to cut the deficit but they want to do it by spending more, effectively.

“My approach to debt is if you have got it pay it off as quickly as you can. Once you pay it off and then you can start at building the economy. But the economy is doing well anyway so I think I will probably go with the Conservatives because there is no sense in changing plans every five years.”