Betting On Budget, Brown And Blair

Punters bet that Tony Blair will be gone by the end of the year as bookies ask: will Gordon Brown still be Chancellor for Budget 2007?

With Gordon Brown set to deliver the budget next week, William Hill are offering odds of 11/10 that he will no longer be Chancellor to do so in March 2007. William Hill also offer 4/6 that Brown will still be Chancellor on Budget Day next March.

And William Hill have opened a book on next week's budget – offering 11/10 that a packet of 20 cigarettes will be increased by 10p or more; 7/2 that beer goes up by 3p a pint or more (8/15 to stay unchanged); 11/8 that the Chancellor mentions the word 'prudence' three or more times during his speech and offering 12/1 that his budget speech lasts over 80 minutes and 12/1 that he is finished in under 46 minutes.

For the first time, bookmakers William Hill reckon that Tony Blair is most likely to leave office as Prime Minister this year. They have cut the odds about him going in 2006 from 6/4 to 6/5 and this year has now replaced 2007 - in which he is now 5/4 to go - as favourite for the first time. 'This week has seen a series of blows affecting Mr Blair and political punters are piling their cash on him being gone before the end of the year' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

William Hill are also offering 11/2 that he goes in 2008; 10/1 that he goes in 2009 and 25/1 that he stays around until 2010 or later. Mr Blair is now 9/1 with William Hill to stay in office long enough to eclipse Mrs Thatcher's eleven and a half year stint.

Gordon Brown is 1/7 favourite to succeed Blair, with David Milliband at 8/1; Charles Clarke 14/1; Jack Straw 16/1.