Chancellor Brown got back into bed with prudence in his ninth, and possibly his last, Budget, but he did indulge in some fiscal flirting with an older consort. Chris Lloyd reports.

GORDON Brown's battlebus lurched into Election Avenue yesterday with a quite blatant attempt to bribe the elderly into jumping aboard - as best, of course, as their aging limbs can manage.

It was a last-minute lurch at the end of what had been a surprisingly smooth and comfortable Budget ride.

There had been a nice view to enjoy - a rosy economic future as, once again, Mr Brown's optimistic forecasts had confounded the sceptics.

There had been a couple of pleasant diversions to take in: a new statue of the Queen Mother in The Mall and Britain's first national community service with "up to £150m to recruit one million young volunteers, matching their idealism and their willingness to serve with the needs of communities across our country and internationally".

There had been a quick stop at the local school, to pour a couple of thousand more into the headteacher's pocket and to patch up some of the primary's fabric, but the driver had felt no need to call in at the local hospital - presumably Labour is now fairly confident that the spending on the health service is producing results.

Indeed, all in all, up until the last minute lurch, Mr Brown's ninth Budget - and possibly his last - had been jolt-free. He had smoothly followed the route mapped out for him by the judicious leaks in the preceding days' newspapers. That route had told him to give a lift to first time home buyers, and he had - the only surprise being that he had not given them as big a lift as had been expected (it had been predicted that the stamp duty threshold would rise to £150,000 but prudent Mr Brown had decided upon £120,000).

Throughout the rest of the Budget, Mr Brown had steered clear of any form of controversy: drivers, drinkers, smokers and savers all had little to cheer but nothing to shout from the rooftops about. Even the analysts, worrying about an imprudent pre-election Budget, had been reassured that this was not a giveaway but a clawback.

"It is right to chose the prudent course for Britain," said the Chancellor, "so I can confirm that my Budget proposals involve this year a modest fiscal tightening."

Although the Budget touched upon many of Mr Brown's specialist interests - notably tax credits, industrial innovation and African debt - it didn't amount to the expected alternative Brown manifesto which would drive Tony Blair to Downing Street for a third term but would also ensure that the Chancellor replaced him in No 10 before too long.

Then came the last-minute lurch into Election Avenue: a £200 council tax rebate, free hospital stays and a bus pass for all (as long as you vote Labour). The tinker with inheritance tax might also have been tailored to appeal to the elderly who would prefer their life's work to be handed down to their children when they're gone rather than squandered by the Treasury.

Some might say it was a pretty cynical lurch from a man who in 2000 increased the state pension by a derisory 75p a week; others might point out that Mr Brown has driven the economy so well that he was able to give something back to the most deserving in society.

Whichever, Mr Brown's reasoning is obvious. Turnout at the next election will be low. It would be a surprise if it reached towards 60 per cent. But those guaranteed to vote are the elderly. The disillusioned young won't be bothered (hopefully, they'll be too busy volunteering for the new national community service to notice an election), but 70 per cent of the country's 10.7 million pensioners will turn out.

With Michael Howard appearing in Mr Brown's rear view mirror - the latest poll has the Tories closing the gap to five per cent although, due to the quirky British electoral system, they will probably need to be three or four per cent ahead to win the election - the elderly are a vital constituency.

But as Britain's pensioners trundle around the country's buslanes on their way to the polling station, will they be thankful for their free passes and for Mr Brown's successfully solid stewardship of the economy? Or will they have a nagging doubt that this £200 rebate is only a one off payment? Next year, without an election to be bought, they could face the full force of Town Hall financiers.

Unless, of course, they vote Liberal Democrat - the only party to promise a full reform of a taxation system that has, for the second consecutive year, required some fiddling under the bonnet from Mr Brown.