IS it really going to take 400 years to eliminate the nation’s debt?

We knew the chancellor George Osborne and his bunch of Tory chuggers were slow, but this takes lethargic to a new dimension.

Borrowing last year was down from £120.9bn to £120.6bn, meaning a slender £300m has been shaved off the bill and that’s only because the cunning Chancellor fiddled the figures.

Puzzlingly though, we’ve had years of barbaric cuts with more to come. So where have all the savings gone?

We’ve heard all the talk about hard-up Britain and the need for the low-paid to do their bit, but are we all being taken for mugs?

There was ample enough money to fund Margaret Thatcher’s funeral and plenty of lolly to throw at those useless work programmes.

Bonuses for the bankers – no problem. And let’s not forget that whopping tax cut for the wealthy.

Even David Cameron has waved goodbye to frugal – his annual gardening bill for his garden at No10 is beyond astronomical.

Now for a guy who moans there is no such thing as a magic money tree he’s just planted the taxpayer with a £50,000 a year gardening bill!

Stephen Dixon, Redcar.