It is likely to be his final chance to redeem himself as Chancellor and present a Budget to help put the economy on the road to recovery.
But whatever the pre-Budget spin, Gordon Brown can't get away from the fact that he has run out of money and saddled our children with massive debt.
Only months ago, the Prime Minister was calling for huge extra spending, but he has had his credit card ripped up by the Governor of Bank of England and his Chancellor is calling for an austerity budget.
Like every other Labour government, this one has run out of money, and no amount of spin can cover it up.
The full extent of Labour's financial mess is becoming clearer by the day. Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling must have known their forecasts were far too optimistic when they made them, and now they've been found out. Labour failed to fix the roof when the sun was shining and now their answer to the debt crisis is even more borrowing and higher taxes. The longer Labour are in power, the worse the economic situation will become.
The Budget should address the very real problems crippling businesses and individuals. Government spending has ballooned out of control and needs to be reined in. Businesses need access to trade cedit insurance and working capital from banks, both of which could be supported by a £50bn National Loan Guarantee Scheme. Empty property rates relief needs to be extended not scrapped. Pensioners and savers need help.
