TREASURY minister William Waldegrave was categorical in his denial today that money from the National Lottery would not be used to replace government spending.

Yet, though it is pledged that the deed will not be done, it is clear that the idea of raiding the bulging lottery coffers to fund government spending commitments is one that appeals, particularly to a minister set the task of cutting expenditure in order to fund tax cuts.

For that is plain from the leaked letter from National Heritage Secretary Virginia Bottomley to Mr Waldegrave, rejecting a Treasury suggestion that cash from the lottery should be used to pay for her department's £300million arts programme.

And after breaking the ice with the arts, health, education, defence and all else might be subsidised by turning the lottery into an artificial tax-cutting device...at the expense of the many good causes it now helps

However, how much the notion would appeal to ordinary voters is a far different matter - especially when ministers, including the Prime Minister, have repeatedly pledged that lottery cash would never be used to fund existing government programmes.

But why make the suggestion if there was never any intention?

On that basis alone, Mr Waldegrave's denial has a hollow ring.

Could it be that, rather than being a sign of clear intent to break promises on how the lottery cash is used, what we have witnessed today was a testing-the-water move to see how the notion goes down politically.

Today's denial might read better then, with the words, "at least not yet," added on the end.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.