Forget any Christmas tree Budget for Britain - Chancellor

There will be no "Christmas tree" Budget of pre-election giveaways later this month, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has warned as talk of an election heats up.

Mr Darling told the BBC that he would outline a "sensible Budget" when he presents his annual 2010/2011 taxation and spending plans on March 24.

"I don't think anyone's expecting some sort of Christmas-tree-of-a-Budget," he said in comments aired late on Thursday.

"They're not going to get anything like that. What you're going to get is a sensible Budget, a Budget for the times in which we live, a Budget for the future of the country."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the date of the pre-election Budget earlier this week, in a move which fuelled expectations of a general election in May.

Several ministers have already suggested the general election -expected to be dominated by debate on the economy - will be held on May 6.

The British economy emerged from recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 with 0.3 per cent growth, ending a record downturn that lasted for six successive quarters.