26 NOVEMBER 1994, Page 34

Say it again, Ken

I NURSE the hope that Kenneth Clarke will amble along to the House of Commons on Tuesday, open his old red box and pull out a four-word Budget speech. 'I told you so', it would say. Then we could all go home early. For the last two months he has been telling his backbenchers to forget about tax cuts. He told the International Monetary Fund that British governments had borrowed far too much already and that he had no intention of borrowing any more than he had to. A line in the Queen's Speech hints that the public sector's share of the national income will come down at last. I suppose he will tell us again.