Zombies line up to take a bite out of Gordon Brown

It's the night of the living dead at Westminster, as former Cabinet ministers who served under Tony Blair line up to criticise the government.

Former Transport Secretary Stephen Byers criticised the pips-squeezing 50p tax rate, calling it an exercise in "political positioning and tactical manoeuvring than a principled, strategic approach to taxation and the raising of revenue".

Then David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, came out against ID cards - one of the most controversial issues facing Jacqui Smith, his successor at the Home Office.

Blunkers is calling instead for the introduction of biometric passports, which are effectively the same thing. But that won't stop opponents throwing his comments in the Government's face the next time Ministers try to justify spending £6 billion on ID cards.

And finally, Charles Clarke, another former Foreign Secretary, chimes in with his own criticisms of the Budget, claiming: "I don't think there's a coherent sense of strategy".

It's been said that the Budget has finally killed off New Labour. But the Blairites refuse to go away.