By Chris Moncrieff, Press Association
It was brisk, crisp, biting and ruthless. Chancellor George Osborne wielded his scythe with the savage exuberance of the Grim Reaper on the spree.
From the word "go" you knew he was not in the business of delivering silky, muted words designed to soften the blow. His statement, lasting a little over an hour, was hot and strong, and to some MPs unpalatable.
His first words jolted the Commons: "Today is the day when Britain gets back from the brink." A few seconds later he warned that to back down now would mean "the road to economic ruin".
Then he proceeded to announce savings of billions here, there and everywhere in public spending to restore, as he put it, "sanity" to the nation's finances.
It cannot be said that this orgy of fiscal pruning came as much of a surprise to Parliament since some of the cuts had been leaked, possibly deliberately, and others had been predicted through intelligent guesswork.
Mr Osborne, with much finger-wagging, delivered his sentence on the nation - "we are all in this together" - in clipped, humourless and occasionally aggressive tones. There was much clearing of the throat and he took advantage of interruptions by taking healthy swigs from his glass of water.
Sitting near him was Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, nodding furiously like those toy dogs seen in the rear windows of cars. Mr Clegg occasionally executed small bounces from his seat: whether this was through excitement or whether his nether garments were causing him problems remains unclear.
Needless to say, Mr Osborne did not miss an opportunity to blame the last Labour Government for everything that had gone wrong. They were, he said, "all talk and no action" and were responsible for this "financial catastrophe".
But amid all the carnage, the Chancellor found time to announce what sounded like hugely expensive improvements to the nation's transport system and vowed that old people would still retain their free bus passes, free prescriptions, the winter fuel allowance and other benefits.
A cynic might point out that Mr Osborne is only too well aware that this "grey" section of the population is growing fast and can also generally be relied upon to vote in large numbers.
His job, he said, was to cut waste and to reform a welfare system which could no longer be afforded. But he warned that it would take time "to turn round the debt super-tanker".
Afterwards Alan Johnson, the surprise choice of shadow Chancellor, responded in boisterous, barnstorming, robust style. If anyone knows how to rouse the rabble, it is Mr Johnson.
He belaboured the Chancellor, quoting back at him Mr Osborne's own "contradictory" views of some years before. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, looked on with the air of a proud man who felt he had picked the right person for the job.
Soon the House was in uproar, thanks to Mr Johnson's electrifying performance. This caused the over-sensitive Speaker John Bercow to complain about the noise.
What on earth did he expect on such a tumultuous day?
© 2012 The Press Association Limited
