The thing with the new-style Labour Chancellor is that he seems to be determined to square the circle.

He plans to do this by trying to cut taxes and also increase spending on services. However the papers seemed agreed on Wednesday that he's managed it so far. But did the Budget do anything particular for Brighton and Hove?

There is so much ecommerce and internet-based businesses in the town. So it's gratifying to hear the Chancellor and the Government putting such emphasis on small and medium-sized businesses in this sector and the entrepreneurs that start them.

Small businesses and particularly digital and new technology ones are some of the biggest drivers of our local economy. In Brighton and Hove this size of firm make up far more than the national average of 56 per cent of the workforce.

Starting up a business is hard and cash is scant. So attracting the highly-skilled can often be a problem. The budget tax-break on share options will particularly help these kinds of businesses.

And with ecommerce and web-enabling within businesses so absolutely vital, the ability to wipe off 100 per cent of the investment in new technology against tax in the year of purchase is valuable.

But the Chancellor could have done more to help new companies attract investment. He has given a 20 per cent tax break to bigger firms to invest up to £100,000 in internet businesses. The ceiling should be higher.

Have you ever tried to get money out of a blue-suited two-up two-down by-the-book bank manager for a new idea? It's a nightmare! You end up having to go somewhere where thinking is as innovative as yours and the investor is willing to be part of the business. £100,000 is a start but it is not enough. Brighton and Hove need as much imaginative investment as it can get whether it is in unusual retail ideas or personal service businesses.

While the Chancellor might get our vote for the support he is giving to the internet sector, there was the danger that Brighton and Hove might have been hung out to dry on the horns of the dilemma the Government is having over what the traditionalists call the North-South divide.

The strategy for calming the fears of the core Labour voter has been to increase expenditure on health and education. But with the latter as we have seen with East Brighton College of Media Arts the Government need to devote more funds targeted to make real sense of fresh-start schools, to enable there to be more teachers per pupil and more funds for special education of the disruptive pupils within the school. Take note Mr Blunkett.

The major disappointment of the Budget for Brighton and Hove is that the Chancellor did little to deal with the strong pound. We are a tourist town and the pound at such a height not only makes us far more expensive for foreign tourists who make up 30 per cent of our visitors but 50 per cent of our tourist income, but it makes it cheaper for British couples to go abroad.

At the moment Brighton and Hove has a very healthy conference diary and visitors are up one per cent on the same time last year. But the strong pound may start to frighten away the tourists soon.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.