Cable impresses the public; but no change in the election betting

William Hill have slashed their odds about Vince Cable delivering the next Budget from 12/1 to 7/1 after a stream of bets for him to do so following his appearance on the Channel 4 debate with Alistair Darling and George Osborne.

'We took a slew of bets for Mr Cable to be Chancellor when the next Budget is delivered during the course of, and at the end of the TV debate. It is obviously unlikely unless there is a Hung Parliament or Mr Cable defects to the Tories, but we have shortened his odds as he is now the best backed contender for the role, and is also now a shorter price than Alistair Darling.' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

The Conservatives' George Osborne is the 2/5 favourite to present the next Budget, with the incumbent Chancellor Alistair Darling 8/1 and Gordon Brown's long-rumoured Chancellor-of-the-future Ed Balls 10/1.

Despite Cable's impressive performance it did not alter the prices in the General Election betting. The Conservatives remain at 8/11 to win a majority; it is 11/8 for there to be a hung parliament; 13/2 that Labour win a fourth consecutive election; and 300/1 that Cable's Liberal Democrats win a majority.

'The debate did not produce any significant change in the General Election betting' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe. 'The Conservatives have remained odds-on favourites as the polls continue to put them ahead of Labour, but plenty of punters are taking a gamble that Labour can still win' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.