The British finance minister, Alistair Darling, has warned of tough times ahead in a pre-election budget which will be unveiled this week.

The budget is expected to be configured to assist the country in correcting its dire financial position, brought on by the deepest recession in modern history.

The government, while hoping there won’t a second phase of the downturn, has warned that spending cuts and tax hikes will be needed anyway to fix Britain's enormous public debt, which has ballooned.

Mr Darling could be making his final annual budget announcement on Wednesday, with the Conservative opposition waiting in the wings with what they have called an "emergency" budget.

Leaders in the opposition party have said they will implement the emergency budget within 50 days of the election if they emerge victorious.