Verdicts and predictions for Gordon Brown

A "friend of Brown" in the Times: “If we lose Crewe then I think a few of us will be telling him to think about quitting,” a former minister and friend of Mr Brown told The Times.

An insider to The Times on why the mini budget now: “The political dynamic changed after the locals,” said one figure closely involved.

Peter Riddell on the mini-budget: So the Treasury will have to raise a very large amount next year. This means either higher taxes or lower spending since higher borrowing cannot be continued. The public finances are not in a healthy state after the sharp rise in public spending since 2000. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that an £8 billion adjustment will have to be made at some stage. Now, with the economy slowing, is the wrong time. But a painful corrective package cannot be put off for ever.

"Roy" in a comment tonight on Red Box at 22.25pm: Crash Gordon - not Flash just Moron

Tamsin Dunwoody, Labour's Crewe candidate, pressed on Channel 4 News on "whether Gordon Brown is an asset or liability": Gordon Brown is our Prime Minister. I'm here meeting people out on the streets and dealing with the issues that affect them.

Labour MPs to the BBC's James Landale: Backbenchers rushed around, clenching their fists in relief, assuring me that at last common sense had prevailed...In the members' lobby, just outside the chamber, a senior member of the Cabinet came up to me, cocked his hand behind his ear and said with all due smugness: "Listen to that - the sound of Tory foxes being shot."

Martin Weale, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research: Some of the beneficiaries of this move will probably have to pay higher taxes in the future, but the Chancellor is probably putting off worrying about the future until another time.

Times leading article: On the substance of the shift, Mr Darling has probably made the correct decision.

Neil Harding, Labour supporter in Brighton:  This is no way to run a government. This is a transparent ploy to save Gordon Brown and win votes for the Crewe Byelection. On the road to fair taxation this demonstrates that where there is a will - there is a way and change can happen very quickly indeed - just like when the Tories abolished the poll tax and put VAT up to 17.5% on a panicky day in 1990.

Hopi Sen, Labour blogger: Simple. Obvious. Benefits people who weren’t expecting to pay less tax who are facing rising bills. I like this tax announcement