It was all about the budget this week but were Kent’s MPs celebrating with a glass of fizz or drowning their sorrows?

Our political editor Paul Francis casts his eye over the contents of the Chancellor’s red briefcase…

When it comes to setting the government’s spending plans, Chancellors have an unenviable task: balancing the need for investment in the economy and public services against the public and political clamour for tax cuts.

Most voters want both, which means Chancellors have to adapt a role that is partly Scrooge, partly Father Christmas.

For Rishi Sunak, walking the political tightrope was arguably a tougher challenge as the country is only just recovering from the coronavirus pandemic – the absence of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer from the budget debate a reminder that Covid-19 continues to cast a long shadow.

Still, Rishi couldn’t afford to be too downbeat and tried to convince us that there was a spirit of optimism in the air.

It was reminiscent of David Cameron’s promise to lead the country out of the economic doldrums to some distant sunny uplands, a journey that Brexit cut short.

The Chancellor’s key soundbites were that a lot of important things were going up and where they weren’t going up, it was because other important things were going down; when things were neither going up nor down, it was because they were stabilising and would, in due course either go up or down depending on the political winds.

There was also a generous use of the word “stronger” – mentioned 50 times in what was a lengthier budget speech than we have had for some time.

As to how Kent fared, the budget did a lot to settle the fears of MPs that it could lose out in the drive to iron out regional inequalities through the “levelling up” programme.

The concerns that the government might divert resources away from Kent to the “red wall” seats the Conservatives are so keen on was partly allayed.

Successful bids for a slice of the government’s funding pot saw rewards for three areas.

Thanet secured £19 million for investment, Ashford got £14.7m and Medway £14.4m for its plans for regenerating Chatham town centre.

MPs were quick off the mark in hailing the good news on Twitter, with an uncanny similarity to graphics attached to their tweets.

Anyone would think that party spin doctors had been at work.

Still, it was investment that could see a convenient convergence with the next general election, when the party will be able to point to some of these schemes as evidence of its largesse.

On the other hand, eye-catching as it is, there will be voters who might question whether it is money that could be better spent on more immediate priorities.

We have had Essex Man, Mondeo Man and Worcester Woman – used by parties to describe the key voters they need to win elections.

Do we now have Prosecco People – a new social demographic for the 2020s?

The cut in duty paid by producers of sparkling wine announced in the budget suggests a new target voter.

With consumption of English sparkling wine increasing almost tenfold, the Chancellor declared: “It’s clear they are no longer the preserve of wealthy elites.”

Whatever the motive, it is good news for Kent’s increasingly popular vineyards.

What will £32m buy you these days?

It’s a tricky question, at least so far as the Department for Transport is concerned.

It’s been given the money to invest in creating more lorry park capacity and to improve the facilities at existing ones.

Just how the money will be allocated and to whom is a question the DFT doesn’t exactly have an answer to.

In response to a query about the investment, the DfT said: “This funding will...address the barriers that local authorities, investors and potential developers face at the start-up phase which deter long-term investment in lorry parking.”

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