I WOULD like some new hardwood garden furniture, and Mrs B wouldn’t mind a new car. But we won’t be going on a spending spree.

Why? Because we can’t afford to at the moment. Most readers will understand this basic economic conundrum.

Well, national economics isn’t that much more complicated, except the numbers are an awful lot bigger.

I try hard to understand the economic arguments put forward by the three main political parties, but it’s so difficult because none of them speak clearly and really say what they mean.

I do have some sympathy because it’s all part of a wider political game. Say what they really believe and they are attacked on all fronts, especially by the political media. One way or another the country has got itself into a real two and eight.

Put in simple terms, if you have an income of £5,000 per annum but spend £7,500 a year, you don’t have to be Carol Vorderman to work out the sums don’t add up. On a national scale, for £5,000 read £504billion, and for £7,500 read £750billion.

This is the UK PLC’s current income and expenditure. We need leaders who will tell the truth and put things simply and honestly, clearly explaining the tough decisions that have to be made.

For instance, if child benefit were to be incorporated in to family tax credits, and OAPs who live abroad were denied winter fuel allowance, we would save around £7billion a year (£700 in our little domestic example), which would be well on the way to balancing things up.

Unfortunately it will never happen because no-one would vote for anyone who advocated it. Tough isn’t it? If the Prime Minister rang me up and said, ‘Clive, you can make one cut’, I would give it to him straight. I’d do away with Trident (our nuclear deterrent), saving countless billions, because we no longer need it in its current form. Please rest assured, I have not turned into a tree hugger – I’m just very pragmatic. Trident is like Mrs B’s need for a new car – an unnecessary luxury when you’re skint.

On Saturday I attended a fundraiser for Coun Anne Cheetham, one of the Rossendale councillors I really like. I chucked a couple of quid in the tombola and was given a suspiciously large pink box. Now being all read up on lobbying, I thought it might contain a few quid to encourage me to write a few nice things about our local politicians.

Unfortunately not. Instead, it held a very twee cup and saucer, one of those objects that spends its life as a tombola prize.