Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called for a general election following Jeremy Hunt’s statement to the Commons today.

Treasury Committee chairwoman Harriett Baldwin has welcomed the Chancellor’s Budget and said increasing the high income child benefit charge would remove the disincentive of taking on work above £50,000.

The Government is set to increase the threshold at which the high-income child benefit charge starts from £50,000 to £60,000 from April.

The Conservative MP for West Worcestershire told the Commons: ‘It was great to hear the Chancellor today really focus on addressing this high-income child benefit charge.

‘When we brought it in, and I voted for it at the time, £50,000 a year was a high rate of income. With the progress in terms of higher incomes, the median income in those days was about £22,000, now the median income is about £35,000 and so £50,000 these days is not more than about 40% over the median income.

‘And that’s why it was absolutely right today that the Chancellor recognise that in his Budget statement, and he has made the taper that much less of a disincentive to people taking on work above that income level.

‘Of course I would have loved to have seen him do more, but I am very grateful for what he has done.’

Vape retailers have hit out at Jeremy Hunt’s new tax on vapes, introduced to crack down on smoking habits.

The levy, which will be higher than the current 20 per cent tax, has been introduced in a bid to make it unaffordable for children.

Doug Mutter, Director at VPZ, said: ‘Vaping is the most effective way for people to quit smoking and continues to transform the health and financial wellbeing of smokers throughout the country.

‘From this perspective it is alarming that the Chancellor has announced a consultation for taxation on vaping products in today’s budget.

‘Increasing taxes on vaping will directly penalise and make products prohibitive for the most vulnerable in society at a time when many are doing their best to make positive life choices.

‘The idea of raising tobacco duty to encourage more smokers to switch, whilst at the same time introducing a punitive vaping tax, is fundamentally flawed and will only punish people looking to quit smoking.’

Sadiq Khan has slammed the Chancellor’s budget as ‘deeply disappointing’ for Londoners. He said that London is facing a ‘perfect storm’ of low growth, cost of living pressures and soaring house costs.

The full statement released by the London Mayor said: ‘This is another deeply disappointing Budget for London. It’s further evidence that the Government is failing to adequately support the capital’s economy, invest in our vital public services or invest in the affordable housing our country desperately needs.

‘Due to the Government’s mismanagement of our economy, Londoners continue to face a perfect storm of low growth, cost of living pressures, soaring housing costs, and cuts to key public services. Tax cuts announced today go nowhere near making up for the huge hikes in mortgage payments and rents Londoners have faced.

‘The Metropolitan Police continues to be chronically underfunded by Government despite the unprecedented pressure on its resources.

‘And there was no new money for transport infrastructure in the capital, that would have direct knock-on benefits to supply chains across the country and helped kick start economic growth.

‘Today’s budget demonstrates that ministers don’t understand the pressures Londoners are under, and they continue to starve London of the investment we need that would bring benefits to the whole country’

Government minister Andrew Bowie said the extension of the windfall tax on oil and gas was ‘deeply disappointing’.

Mr Bowie, a minister in the Department for Energy and Net Zero and the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said he would be working with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross in response to the extension of the energy profits levy, which charges oil and gas companies an extra 35% tax on the money they make in the UK.

He said there was ‘much in this Budget to welcome’ but ‘the extension of the EPL is deeply disappointing’.

Jeremy Hunt poked fun at Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and the row over her tax affairs today as he unleashed some Budget banter. Here is the full story

Sir Keir Starmer said ‘record levels of migration’ have prevented an ‘even deeper decline’, telling MPs: ‘While on these benches we do not demean for a second the contribution that migrants make to a thriving economy, it is high time the party opposite was honest with the British public about the role migration plays in their economic policy.

‘Because right now in terms of growth that is all they have. There is nothing else.’

The Labour leader said the cost of childcare is a ‘huge challenge for millions’, adding: ‘Parents need him to deliver on his promise, but it seems the Chancellor has been taking lessons on marketing from the Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow.

‘All is not as it seems and with just over three weeks to go, he has to come clean because up and down the country parents need to know will they get their entitlement in April or is it just another of their reckless promises on governing? Headlines over delivery, promises without plans, policies that unravel at the first contact with reality.’

Sir Keir said the ‘Tory credit rating is zero’, adding: ‘It’s time for change with Labour.’

The Prime Minister is overseeing a ‘Rishi recession’, Sir Keir Starmer claimed, as he hit out at the Government’s record on the economy.

The Labour leader said it remains true that taxes are at ‘a 70-year high’ despite the Chancellor’s budget, adding: ‘The British people paying more for less, an unprecedented hit to living standards of working people, the first time they have gone backwards over a Parliament, and they were cheering that today.’

‘The reason is equally simple, there is no plan for growth. How can there be? He can say ‘long-term plan’ all he likes,’ Sir Keir added to jeers from the Prime Minister and Chancellor.

He insisted it was a ‘statistical sleight of hand’ by ministers to claim Britain has grown more quickly than countries like Germany over the last 14 years, telling MPs: ‘Indeed, in per capita terms, our economy has not grown since the first quarter of 2022, the longest period of stagnation Britain has seen since 1955.’

Sir Keir said: ‘There is nothing technical about working people living in recession for every second the Prime Minister has been in power. This is a Rishi recession.’

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the Chancellor’s plans to improve NHS IT, and the fuel duty freeze, which he said Labour would support.

The Labour leader gave his backing to extra NHS IT funding, adding: ‘Although, I have to note that the Chancellor, when he was health secretary 10 years ago, promised to make the NHS paperless by 2018.’

He went on: ‘I know the Prime Minister’s fondness for Elon Musk extends to an enthusiastic embrace of his community notes on fact checking, so I will say this bit slowly, Labour supports the fuel duty freeze, that is our policy, and I look forward to the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of that in coming days.’

Sir Keir urged Jeremy Hunt to ensure the saving was passed on to ‘hard-pressed families at the pump’.

The Chancellor confirmed in his Budget that the 5p per litre cut implemented in March 2022 will be retained for another 12 months, and fuel duty will not increase in line with inflation.

The UK economy is set to grow more than expected over the next two years as it rebounds from recession, according to the UK fiscal watchdog. But it predicted growth would ease back earlier than previously forecast in the longer-term.

New economic predictions by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also showed that UK inflation is set to drop below the Government’s 2 per cent target rate within a ‘few months’ after interest rate hikes by the Bank of England.

Here are some of the key graphs, which the OBR has posted on X this afternoon:

Mail on Sunday commentator Dan Hodges has described today’s announcement as a ‘pre-election losing Budget’

Sir Keir Starmer has said the public will be subject to a ‘Tory stealth tax’ through council tax increases.

The Labour leader told the Commons: ‘People have been living through this nonsense for 14 years. They know the thresholds are still frozen, dragging more and more people into higher taxes.

‘They know that a Tory stealth tax is coming their way in the shape of their next council tax bill. The Levelling-up Secretary has told not just this House but every house in the country he’s coming for their council tax, give with one hand, Gove in the other.

‘But most insultingly of all, the British people know the only cause that gets this lot out of bed is trying to save their own skin.

‘Take the desperate move, after years of resistance, to finally accept Labour’s argument on the non-dom tax regime. Has there ever been a more obvious example of a Government that is totally bereft of ideas?

‘And if they’re sincere in support of this policy now, then the question they must answer today is why did they not do it earlier? Why did they not stand up to their friends, their funders, and their family?

‘Because if they had followed Labour’s example 3.8 million extra operations would have taken place by now, 1.3 million emergency dental appointments, free breakfast clubs for nearly four-and-a-half million children. But if instead this is just another short-term, cynical political gimmick then honestly what is the point of them?’

Running the country requires being fit as a fiddle – so for the two men competing for the top job in this year’s general election, it couldn’t be more important to look after their health.

However, Labour peer Peter Mandelson has ruffled feathers within his party today after suggesting Sir Keir Starmer needs to ‘shed a few pounds’ ahead of his campaign to win over the electorate.

Despite such reports, the Labour leader does seem to lead a fairly healthy lifestyle, following a pescatarian diet and playing five-a-side football in North London whenever he can.

Similarly, the health of Rishi Sunak has come under scrutiny in recent months, after the prime minister revealed he carries out a diet of intermittent fasting and doesn’t eat a single thing on Mondays.

But, policies aside, how does the prime minister shape up to the Labour leader in the fitness stakes? FEMAIL takes a closer look into their diets and exercise regimes to find out…

A six-month extension to a fund helping the most vulnerable people struggling with the cost of living is welcome but is ‘only a temporary fix’ with longer-term help needed, campaigners and councils said.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had been under pressure to continue the Household Support Fund (HSF) beyond the end of March and has now accepted that ‘now is not the time to stop the targeted help it offers’.

Shaun Davies, chair of the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said while they are ‘pleased’ at the extension, the ‘very last minute’ announcement and the fact it is ‘only for a short period’ was ‘disappointing’.

He said: ‘Three-quarters of councils expect hardship to increase further in their area over the next 12 months. The Government needs to use the next six months to agree a more sustainable successor to the HSF.

‘Councils need certainty and consistent funding to efficiently maintain the staff, services and networks that help our most vulnerable residents. Without this, we risk more people falling into financial crisis as we head into winter.’

Citizens Advice echoed this, saying while welcome, the extension is ‘only a temporary fix’ and that ‘a longer-term commitment (is needed) to ensure this vital fund doesn’t abruptly dry up in the future’.

Its chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty welcomed the scrapping of the £90 charge on debt relief orders – something it had called for.

Sir Keir Starmer has said tax cuts in the Budget are a ‘Tory con’.

The Labour leader told the Commons: ‘If only it weren’t so serious, because the story of this Parliament is devastatingly simple: a Conservative Party stubbornly clinging to the failed ideas of the past, completely unable to generate the growth working people need, and forced by that failure to ask them to pay more and more, for less and less.

‘And as the desperation grows they torch not only their reputation for fiscal responsibility but any notion that they can serve the county, not themselves.

‘Party first, country second while working people pay the price.’

He added: ‘(The Conservatives) lost control of the economy, they sent interest rates through the roof, they made working people pay.

‘They should be under no illusion. That record is how the British people will judge today’s cuts, because the whole country can see exactly what is happening here.

‘They recognise a Tory con when they see it, just as they did in November. Give with one hand, take even more with the other.’

Shirley Widdop, a 56-year-old with physical disabilities which prevent her from working, said the Household Support Fund (HSF) has ‘helped her stay afloat’ during tough financial times and she would be ‘at rock bottom’ without it.

Ms Widdop, a former registered NHS nurse from Keighley, West Yorkshire, said she was ‘really pleased’ to hear that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had announced the extension of the HSF, which was due to wrap up at the end of March but will now continue until September, but she said the support ‘must continue’ for longer.

The mother-of-three had claimed £140 on the HSF in October 2023 which helped to pay for her energy bill to heat her home, where she lives with her 19-year-old son who has autism among other conditions.

She said: ‘Without it, I would probably be hitting rock bottom financial-wise. There’s only so much money you can ask to borrow from your families without causing offense or upset and there’s only so much you can put on a credit card.

‘The (HSF) helps you to stay afloat and you may be treading water, but at least you’re not dragged down into the depths.

‘It was the right thing for the Government to do. I’m glad they’ve extended it but the Household Support Fund must continue, not just for the six months but further on from that.’

Tory MPs should expect to soon defend the Government on plans to remove private school tax relief following the Chancellor’s decision to axe the non-dom status, Sir Keir Starmer said.

Welcoming the move, which is a Labour policy, Labour leader Sir Keir said: ‘For those opposite now a little downbeat about another intellectual triumph for social democracy, I say get used to it, because with this pair in charge it won’t be long before they ask you to defend the removal of private school tax relief as well.

‘The harder they try with cynical games like this, the worse it will get for them, because the whole country can see exactly who they are.

‘Fighting for themselves, politics not governing, party first, country second.’

Owners of more than 70,000 holidays lets will be bled by the chancellor to pay for his Budget National Insurance cuts, he revealed today. Here is the full story:

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has said he is ‘deeply disappointed’ at the extension of the windfall tax in the spring Budget, announcing he will vote against the measure.

Mr Ross, who also serves as an MP for Moray, had urged the Chancellor not to extend the levy, telling journalists it would not be the right move.

In a statement after the Budget was laid out in the Commons, Mr Ross said: ‘while I accept the Chancellor had some tough decisions to make, I’m deeply disappointed by his decision to extend the windfall tax for a further year.

‘The SNP and Labour have abandoned 100,000 Scottish workers by calling for the taps in the North Sea to be turned off now.

‘Although the UK Government rightly oppose this reckless policy – and have granted new licences for continued production in the North Sea – the budget announcement is a step in the wrong direction.

‘As such, I will not vote for the separate legislation needed to pass the windfall tax extension and will continue to urge the Chancellor to reconsider.’

Sir Keir Starmer has referred to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as the ‘Chuckle Brothers of decline’.

He told the Commons: ‘The Chancellor, who breezes into this chamber in a recession and tells the working people of this country that everything’s on track. Crisis? What crisis? Or as the captain of the Titanic and the former Prime Minister herself might have said, iceberg? What iceberg?

‘Smiling as the ship goes down, the chuckle brothers of decline, dreaming of Santa Monica or maybe just a quiet life in Surrey not having to self-fund his election.’

The original Chuckle Brothers – Barry, who died in 2018, and Paul – are pictured.

The Government has announced the introduction of a new British ISA to encourage investment in UK companies and boost the City.

It will give people an additional £5,000 tax-free allowance to invest in UK assets, on top of the existing £20,000 limit.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed the plan as part of his spring Budget statement this afternoon.

‘This will be on top of the existing ISA allowances and ensure that British savers can benefit from the growth of the most promising UK businesses as well as supporting them with the capital to help them expand,’ Mr Hunt said.

Mr Hunt said he had received calls from more than 200 City representatives to reform the ISA system and encourage more people to invest in UK assets.

The British ISA will apply to people who max out their £20,000 tax-free allowance on an ISA, a savings vehicle that offers people tax-free interest payments. The Government said it will consult on the details.

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Conservative Government of ‘delusion’ following the budget announcement.

The Labour leader told the Commons: ‘I mean over 14 years we have seen our fair share of delusion from the party opposite. A Prime Minister who thinks the cost of living crisis is starting to ease.

‘An Education Secretary (Gillian Keegan) who thinks concrete crumbling on our children deserves her gratitude. A former prime minister (Liz Truss) who still believes crashing the pound was the right path for Britain.’

Airline passengers travelling in premium cabins will be hit by a tax hike.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a ‘one-off adjustment’ to the level of air passenger duty (APD) for those with non-economy tickets, such as premium economy, business class and first class.

In his Budget speech, Mr Hunt said the measure will ‘account for high inflation in recent years’.

APD for passengers in premium cabins on departures from UK airports currently ranges from £13 to £200 based on the distance of the flight.

The Chancellor has pledged additional funding to use for first responder drones and police video calls in the Budget in the House of Commons today. Here’s the story:

Sir Keir Starmer has branded the Chancellor’s budget ‘the last desperate act of a party that has failed’.

Speaking in the Commons, the Labour leader said: ‘There we have it, the last desperate act of a party that has failed.

‘Britain in recession, the national credit card maxed out, and despite the measures today, the highest tax burden for 70 years.

‘The first Parliament since records began to see living standards fall, confirmed by this budget today.

‘That is their record, it is still their record, give with one hand and take even more with the other, and nothing they do between now and the election will change that.’

Vapes will be hit by harsh new taxes under Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s new Budget that could see the price of the strongest e-cigarette fluid rise by up to £3.

Read the full story from John Ely, senior health reporter for MailOnline:

Mr Hunt’s headline announcement was a 2p cut to national insurance, matching a reduction announced in the autumn statement, alongside a series of measures to help hard-up households with the cost of living. Here is a summary:

• National insurance cut: A cut in national insurance from 10% by 8% could save the average worker £450 a year, adding up to a £900 saving for 27 million employees when combined with a cut last autumn.
• Fuel and alcohol duty freezes: The Chancellor said he would maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for a further 12 months. An alcohol duty freeze will also continue until February 2025.
• Tobacco and flight duties: An excise duty will be introduced on vapes from October 2026, alongside a one-off increase in tobacco duty and a one-off adjustment to rates of air passenger duty on non-economy flights.
• Oil and gas windfall tax extended: The windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas producers will be extended until 2029, with the aim of raising £1.5 billion in tax.
• Non-dom tax status abolished: The special tax status for non-domiciled individuals in the UK, which allows them to pay tax on only their UK earnings, will be abolished.
• Household support fund: Funding aimed at supporting vulnerable households with the costs of basic goods, and heating their homes through the cost-of-living crisis, will be extended for a further six months.
• Childcare: The Government will guarantee pay rates to childcare providers for the next two years, in order to deliver on its care offer for children over nine months old.
• VAT registration threshold: The VAT registration threshold will be increased from £85,000 to £90,000 from the start of April, with the aim of taking ‘tens of thousands’ of businesses out of paying it altogether in order to help them grow.
• British ISA: The new savings account will allow an additional £5,000 investment in UK-based companies and assets, with the aim of helping them expand.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the way people’s income is taxed is ‘particularly unfair’, adding: ‘If you get your income from having a job, you pay two types of tax – national insurance contributions and income tax.

‘If you get it from other sources you only pay one. This double taxation of work is unfair. The result is a complicated system that penalises work instead of encouraging it.

‘If we are to build a high wage, high skill economy not dependent on migration, if we want to encourage people not in work to come back to work, we need a simpler, fairer tax system that makes work pay. That’s why I cut national insurance contributions in the autumn.’

He added: ‘Today, because of the progress we have made bringing down inflation, because of the additional investment that is now flowing into the economy, because we have a plan for better and more efficient public services, and because we have asked those with the broadest shoulders to pay a bit more, I go further.’

He added: ‘From April 6, employee national insurance will be cut by another 2p, from 10% to 8%, and self-employed national insurance will be cut from 8% to 6%.

‘It means an additional £450 a year for the average employee or £350 for someone self-employed. When combined with the autumn reductions, it means 27 million employees will get an average tax cut of £900 a year and two million self-employed a tax cut averaging £650.’

Before he finished, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said child benefit is withdrawn when one parent earns more than £50,000 a year, saying: ‘That means two parents earning £49,000 a year receive the benefit in full but a household earning a lot less than that does not if just one parent earns over £50,000.

‘Today I set out plans to end that unfairness. Doing so requires significant reform to the tax system including allowing HMRC to collect household level information.

‘We will therefore consult on moving the high-income child benefit charge to a household-based system to be introduced by April 2026.

‘But because that is not a quick fix, I make two changes today to make the current system fairer.’

He explained: ‘I confirm that from this April the high-income child benefit charge threshold will be raised from £50,000 to £60,000. We will raise the top of the taper at which it is withdrawn to £80,000.

‘That means no one earning under £60,000 will pay the charge, taking 170,000 families out of paying it altogether. And because of the higher taper and threshold, nearly half a million families with children will save an average of around £1,300 next year.’

Britons reacted to Jeremy Hunt’s Budget today as they told MailOnline of their worries over income tax, benefits, buying a house and even the cost of vaping:

Jeremy Hunt said tax cuts would offer ‘much needed help in challenging times’ and stimulate economic growth as he set out Budget plans for pre-election giveaways.

Mr Hunt made a 2p cut in national insurance for workers and the self-employed the centrepiece of a tax-cutting Budget with an eye on this year’s general election.

He said the cut, from April, will result in the lowest effective personal tax rate since 1975 and could result in getting the equivalent of 200,000 more people in work.

Mr Hunt said inflation was set to fall to below the Bank of England’s 2% target “in a few months’ time”, easing the cost-of-living squeeze. But he also set out a series of measures aimed at helping hard-pressed households, including:

• Changing the way child benefit is treated, with the individual earnings threshold at which it is taxed increasing from £50,000 to £60,000 from April;
• Freezing fuel duty and extending the “temporary” 5p cut for a further 12 months;
• A freeze in alcohol duty to February 1, 2025; and
• Extending the Household Support Fund with an extra £500million.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt gas concluded his Budget speech at 1.38pm this afternoon. This was one hour and five minutes after standing up.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ended his Budget speech by saying the Government aims to cut national insurance further ‘when it can be achieved without increasingborrowing and when it can be delivered without compromising high-quality public services’.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, turning to taxes paid by those who are resident in the UK but not domiciled here for tax purposes, told the Commons: ‘Nigel Lawson wanted to end the non-dom regime in his great tax reforming budget of 1988 which is where I suspect the Labour Party got the idea from.

‘I too have always believed that provided we protect the UK’s attractiveness to international investors, those with the broadest shoulders should pay their fair share. After looking at the issue over many months, I have concluded that we can indeed introduce a system which is both fairer and remains competitive with other countries.

‘So the Government will abolish the current tax system for non-doms, get rid of the outdated concept of domicile…’

As he was heckled by Labour MPs, Mr Hunt joked: ‘I aim to please all sides of the House in all my budgets. And will replace the non-dom regime with a modern, simpler and fairer residency-based system.

‘From April 2025, new arrivals to the UK will not be required to pay any tax on foreign income and gains for their first four years of UK residency, a more generous regime than at present and one of the most attractive offers in Europe.

‘But after four years, those who continue to live in the UK will pay the same tax as other UK residents.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed a further 2p National Insurance cut, from 10% to 8% from April 6, with self-employed National Insurance being slashed from 8% to 6%.

The Chancellor’s announcement there will be an additional £2.5billion available to the NHS in the coming year is ‘just enough to stop spending falling’ and ‘not an increase on this year’s spending’, according to IFS director Paul Johnson.

Mr Johnson posted on X: ‘Extra £2.5bn for NHS next year is just enough to stop spending falling compared to this year. It is not an increase on this year’s spending. History suggests there will be more top ups to come.

‘Promising to get NHS IT systems to be ‘as good as best in the world’ is quite an ambition. Need major investment just to get them to barely adequate.’

Mr Johnson also criticised the extension of the Energy Profits Levy for another year to 2029, which Mr Hunt said would raise £1.5 billion, posting: ‘We need a stable regime. It is ludicrous adjusting this year on year to raise bits and pieces of money.

‘There is a case for high taxes on these sorts of profits. Let’s have a stable regime.’

Jeremy Hunt has confirmed a reform to Child Benefit by changing the threshold, adding that it will benefit nearly half a million families.

He said the high-income child benefit charge threshold will be raised from £50,000 to £60,000 and the taper will extend up to £80,000.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, turning to oil and gas, said the Government will legislate in the Finance Bill to abolish the Energy Profits Levy ‘should market prices fall to their historic norm for a sustained period of time’.

He added: ‘But because the increase in energy prices caused by the Ukraine war is expected to last longer, so too will the sector’s windfall profits. So I will extend the sunset on the Energy Profits Levy for an additional year to 2029 raising £1.5billion.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt received cheers as he spoke of lower taxes, telling MPs: ‘If we want to encourage hard work, we should let people keep as much of their own money as possible.

‘Conservatives look around the world at economies in North America and Asia and notice that countries with lower taxes generally have higher growth. Economists argue about cause and correlation. But we know that lower taxed economies have more energy, more dynamism and more innovation. We know that is our future too.’

Mr Hunt said he was confirming the introduction of an excise duty on vaping products from October 2026 in a bid to discourage non-smokers from taking up vaping.

Mr Hunt also said he would abolish the furnished holiday lettings regime.

He went on: ‘I have also been looking at the stamp duty relief for people who purchase more than one dwelling in a single transaction, known as multiple dwellings relief. I see the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (Angela Rayner) paying close attention given her multiple dwellings. This relief was not actually designed for her but intended to support investment in the private rented sector. However, an external evaluation found no strong evidence that it had done so and that it was being regularly abused. So I am going to abolish it.’

He said he was going to reduce the higher rate of property capital gains tax from 28% to 24%, joking to Ms Rayner: ‘That one really is for Angela.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed he will abolish the non-dom system that lets foreign nationals avoid paying UK tax on money made overseas, replacing it with a ‘modern, simpler and fairer residency-based system’.

The alcohol industry has welcomed the extension of the alcohol duty freeze as ‘some much-needed certainty and stability’ for the industry and consumers alike.

Scotch Whisky Association chief executive Mark Kent said: ‘The industry welcomes the Chancellor’s recognition of the benefits of continuing the duty freezes beyond August this year.

‘That decision supports the Scotch whisky industry, will incentivise investment and, as with previous cuts and freezes, boost Treasury revenue.

‘With cost pressures hurting our bars and pubs, not to mention hard-pressed consumers, the Treasury has provided some much-needed certainty and stability for the year ahead.’

But he added: ‘Despite this freeze, Scotch whisky is still put at a disadvantage by the duty system, based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how people consume alcohol and modern drinking trends.

‘With today’s freeze cider is still taxed four times less than a spirit like Scotch whisky and responsible consumers who enjoy a Scotch are paying too much tax compared with a beer or cider.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed the introduction of an excise duty on vapes from October 2026, a one-off increase in tobacco duty and a one-off adjustment to rates of air passenger duty on non-economy flights.

The UK economy is set to grow more than expected over the next two years as it rebounds from recession, according to the UK fiscal watchdog. But it predicted growth would ease back earlier than previously forecast in the longer-term.

New economic predictions also showed that UK inflation is set to drop below the Government’s 2% target rate within a ‘few months’ after interest rate hikes by the Bank of England.

The Chancellor said in Parliament today that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that the UK gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 0.8% this year. In November, the official forecaster had previously predicted growth of 0.7%.

It comes after sluggish growth last year, when the economy grew by 0.1% after a recession in the second half of the year. It had been expected to grow by 0.6%.

The OBR also upgraded its growth forecast for next year, increasing it from 1.4% to 1.9%. It kept its growth prediction the same for 2026 but slightly downgraded its 2027 forecast from 2% to 1.8%.

Jeremy Hunt also said the OBR had predicted that Government borrowing was set to fall below 3% of GDP in 2025/26, three years ahead of previous predictions.

You can watch the OBR’s analysis in a video from 2.30pm this afternoon:

The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said the Chancellor’s plan to keep planned growth in day-to-day public spending at 1% in real terms will mean some public services having to be cut by a total of around £20 billion per year by 2028.

Paul Johnson posted on X: ‘Keeping planned growth in day to day spending at 1% (per annum) real over next parliament.

‘Key point is that, with bigger increases nailed in for health, defence, and childcare, other public services will need to be cut – by (circa) £20bn (per annum) by 2028 on our calculations.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, on his bid to make public services ‘more efficient’, said: ‘Police officers waste around eight hours a week on unnecessary admin – with higher productivity, we could free up time equivalent to 20,000 officers over a year.

‘So we will spend £230 million rolling out time and money saving technology which speeds up police response time by allowing people to report crimes by video call and where appropriate use drones as first responders.’

Mr Hunt said £170 million would be used to fund ‘non-court resolution, reduce reoffending and digitise the court process’.

He also said £165 million would be invested over the next four years to increase the capacity of the children’s homes estate while £105 million over the next four years would be used to build 15 new special free schools

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said improvements will be made to the NHS so it can be used to confirm and modify all appointments, telling MPs: ‘On top of funding this longer-term transformation, we will also help the NHS meet pressures in the coming year with an additional £2.5billion.

‘This will allow the NHS to continue its focus on reducing waiting times and brings the total increase in NHS funding since the start of the Parliament to 13 per cent in real terms.’

Pictured: Jeremy Hunt visits St George’s Hospital in 2017 as Health Secretary

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said there is a need for a ‘more productive state not a bigger state’, saying: ‘I am keeping the planned growth in day-to-day spending at 1 per cent in real terms. But we are going to spend it better.

‘So today I am announcing a landmark public sector productivity plan that restarts public service reform and changes the Treasury’s traditional approach to public spending.’

On the NHS, Mr Hunt said the systems that support its staff are ‘often antiquated’ before adding on the long-term workforce plan: ‘I wanted better care for patients, better value for taxpayers and more rewarding work for its staff. Making changes on the scale we need is not cheap. The investment needed to modernise NHS IT systems so they are as good as the best in the world costs £3.4billion.

‘But it helps unlock £35billion of savings, 10 times that amount. So in today’s Budget for long-term growth, I have decided to fund the NHS productivity plan in full.’

He added: ‘We will slash the 13million hours lost by doctors and nurses every year to outdated IT systems. We will use AI to cut down and potentially cut in half form filling by doctors. We will digitise operating theatre processes allowing the same number of consultants to do an extra 200,000 operations a year.

‘We will fund improvements to help doctors read MRI and CT scans more accurately and quickly, speeding up results for 130,000 patients every year and saving thousands of lives, something I know would have delighted my brother Charlie who I recently lost to cancer.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said planned growth in day-to-day public spending will be kept at 1 per cent in real terms but the Government will ‘spend it better’ with a new ‘productivity plan’.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt promised to guarantee ‘the rates that will be paid to childcare providers’ to deliver the Government’s free childcare expansion pledge.

Pictured: Jeremy Hunt meets children at a Battersea nursery in March last year

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said AstraZeneca plans to invest £650million in the UK to expand their footprint on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and fund the building of a vaccine manufacturing hub in Speke in Liverpool.

Mr Hunt also joked he believes Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is doing an ‘F-ing good job’ before saying he would be guaranteeing the rates that will be paid to childcare providers to deliver the Government’s offer for children over nine months old for the next two years.

On the armed forces, Mr Hunt said: ‘We are providing more military support to Ukraine than nearly any other country and our spending will rise to 2.5 per cent as soon as economic conditions allow.’

On creative industries, Jeremy Hunt said the Government will provide eligible film studios in England with 40% relief on their gross business rates until 2034.

He also said: ‘We will introduce a new tax credit for UK independent films with a budget of less than £15 million. For our creative industries more broadly, we will provide £26 million of funding to our pre-eminent theatre, the National Theatre, to upgrade its stages.’

On recognising the contribution to the creative industries and tourism made by orchestras, museums, galleries and theatres, Mr Hunt said: ‘In the pandemic we introduced higher 45% and 50% level of tax relief which were due to end in March 2025. It has been a lifeline for performing arts across the country.

‘Today in recognition of their vital importance to our national life I can announce I am making those tax reliefs permanent at 45% for touring and orchestral productions and 40% for non-touring productions. Lord Lloyd-Webber says this will be a once in a generation transformational change that will ensure Britain remains the global capital of creativity.

‘I suspect the theatre reliefs may be of particular interest to the shadow chancellor who fancies her thespian skills when it comes to acting like a Tory. The trouble is we all know how her show ends: higher taxes like every Labour government in history.’

Jeremy Hunt said Great British Nuclear will begin the next phase of the small modular reactor selection process, with companies having until June to submit their initial tender responses.

Jeremy Hunt today extended the duty freeze on beer, wine and spirits until next February in a welcome boost to the hospitality industry.

The Chancellor had already frozen tax on a pint until this summer as he moved to help hard-pressed pubs and drinkers in last year’s Autumn Statement.

Today’s move – which will benefit 38,000 pubs across the UK – comes after ferocious lobbying from the drinks and hospitality industries who say firms are struggling as consumers tighten their belts and costs rise. Here’s the full story:

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also said he intends to reform the Isa system to encourage more people to invest in UK assets.

He said: ‘After a consultation on its implementation, I will introduce a brand new British Isa which will allow an additional £5,000 annual investment for investments in UK equity with all the tax advantages of other Isas.

‘This will be on top of the existing Isa allowances and ensure that British savers can benefit from the growth of the most promising UK businesses as well as supporting them with the capital to help them expand.’

The Treasury was criticised for failing to reduce VAT on public electrical vehicle (EV) charging to bring it into line with home charging.

Ian Plummer, commercial director at online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, said the fuel duty freeze ‘sends more mixed messages to any motorists tempted to switch to electric vehicles’.

He went on: ‘Equalising VAT across public and private EV charging points would encourage people to make the switch, and for a fraction of the £6 billion cost of freezing fuel duty, so today is a missed opportunity to support the green transition.”

Colin Walker, transport analyst at non-profit organisation the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: ‘Electric motoring is cheaper motoring and the fuel duty freeze hasn’t changed that.

‘Bringing VAT on public charging in line with charging at home will encourage more drivers to make the switch to electric motoring.

‘If the Government really wants to help the UK’s drivers save money, the focus needs to be firmly on helping them make the move to EVs where more significant savings can be made.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said new powers will be given to the Pensions Regulator and Financial Conduct Authority to ensure ‘better value’ from defined contribution schemes by ‘judging performance on overall returns not cost’.

He said: ‘But I remain concerned that other markets such as Australia generate better returns for pension savers with more effective investment strategies and more investment in high quality domestic growth stocks.

‘So I will introduce new requirements for DC and local government pension funds to disclose publicly their level of international and UK equity investments. I will then consider what further action should be taken if we are not on a positive trajectory towards international best practice.’

Mr Hunt said he will proceed with a retail sale for part of the Government’s remaining NatWest shares this summer at the earliest, subject to market conditions and value for money.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a new ‘British Isa’ giving investors a £5,000 extra tax-free allowance to ‘encourage more people to invest in UK assets’.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also said: ‘As a result of the decisions we take today, the Scottish Government will receive nearly £300million in Barnett consequentials, with nearly £170million for the Welsh Government and £100million for the Northern Ireland Executive.’

Mr Hunt said there would be a long-term funding settlement for the future development corporation in Cambridge at the next spending review.

Mr Hunt also said the Government has reached agreement on a £160million deal with Hitachi to purchase the Wylfa site in Ynys Mon and the Oldbury site in South Gloucestershire.

The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said the Chancellor’s announcement on borrowing falling should be taken ‘with a pinch of salt’ and may ‘imply cuts for many public services’.

Paul Johnson posted on X: ‘Chancellor announces borrowing falling over next five years to just 1.2% of GDP. Take this with a pinch of salt. Will depend on implementing extremely tight spending plans which will imply cuts for many public services.’

On Jeremy Hunt’s announcement he would maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for a further 12 months, Mr Johnson posted: ‘Yet another fuel duty freeze.

‘Yet no doubt we will continue the fiction that the ‘temporary’ 5p cut will be reinstated and duty will rise with inflation from next year. Not doing so will cost another £6billion on top of £14billion annual cost of freezes since 2010.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt took aim at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (pictured today) as he mentioned Surrey, noting: ‘I know he has been taking advice from Lord Mandelson who yesterday rather uncharitably said he needed to shed a few pounds – ordinary families will shed more than a few pounds if that lot get in.

‘If he wants to join me on my marathon training he’s most welcome.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he will shortly publish draft legislation for full expensing to apply to leased assets, noting: ‘A change I intend to bring in as soon as it is affordable.’

He also told MPs: ‘I will provide £200 million of funding to extend the Recovery Loan Scheme as it transitions to the Growth Guarantee Scheme, helping 11,000 SMEs access the finance they need.’

Mr Hunt also said: ‘I will reduce the administrative and financial impact of VAT by increasing the VAT registration threshold from £85,000 to £90,000 from April 1 – the first increase in seven years.

‘This will bring tens of thousands of businesses out of paying VAT altogether and encourage many more to invest and grow.’

Mr Hunt said a package of support potentially worth more than £100 million would be provided to the north east devolution deal.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the VAT registration threshold will be increased from £85,000 to £90,000 from the start of April, saying it would help ‘tens of thousands of businesses.’

The freeze means fuel duty will remain at 57.95p per litre, as it has done since March 2011.

The ‘temporary’ 5p cut on the fuel tax, which was first introduced in March 2022 by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a bid to neutralise escalating pump prices triggered by the outbreak of war in Ukraine, will also remain in place until March 2025.

It means duty on fuel will stay at 52.95p for the next 12 months. Read the full analysis on MailOnline here:

A motoring groups has welcomed Jeremy Hunt’s decision to freeze fuel duty.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: ‘With a general election looming, it would have been a huge surprise for the Chancellor to tamper with the political hot potato that is fuel duty in today’s Budget. It appears the decision of if or when duty will be put back up again has been quietly passed to the next government.

‘But, while it’s good news that fuel duty has been kept low, it’s unlikely drivers will be breathing a collective sigh of relief as we don’t believe they’ve fully benefited from the cut that was introduced just two years ago due to retailers upping margins to cover their ‘increased costs’.

‘This has meant fuel prices have been higher than they would otherwise have been.

‘What’s more, despite today’s positive news it’s still the case that drivers are once again enduring rising prices at the pumps, sparked by the oil price going up – the average cost of a litre is already up by more than 4p since the start of the year.’

Mr Hunt’s decision means fuel duty will remain at 52.95p per litre for petrol and duty. Before the 2022 cut, it had been frozen at 57.95p since March 2011. VAT is charged at 20 per cent on top of the total price.

Jeremy Hunt said tax cuts would offer ‘much needed help in challenging times’ and stimulate economic growth as he set out Budget plans for pre-election giveaways.

The Chancellor said he was offering ‘permanent tax cuts’ in a ‘Budget for long-term growth’. Mr Hunt is set to make a 2p cut in national insurance the centrepiece of a tax-cutting Budget with an eye on this year’s general election.

He said inflation was set to fall to below the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target ‘in a few months’ time’, easing the cost-of-living squeeze. But he also set out a series of measures aimed at helping hard-pressed households, including:

• Freezing fuel duty and extending the ‘temporary’ 5p cut for 12 more months;
• A freeze in alcohol duty to February 1, 2025; and
• Extending the Household Support Fund with an extra £500million.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the economy is expected to grow 0.8% this year and 1.9% next year, 0.5% higher than the OBR’s autumn forecast.

He said: ‘After that growth rises to 2%, 1.8%, and 1.7% in 2028.’

Mr Hunt also told MPs: ‘Because we have turned the corner on inflation, we will soon turn the corner on growth.’

Mr Hunt urged Labour MPs to listen to him as ‘they don’t have a growth plan’, adding: ‘Our plan is for economic growth not sustained through migration but one that raises wages and living standards for families.’

The Chancellor today announced a freeze on fuel duty for the 14th consecutive year and extended the ‘temporary’ 5p cut in the rate for another 12 months.

Read the full article from MailOnline’s political correspondent Greg Heffer:

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, on debt figures, said: ‘Underlying debt, which excludes Bank of England debt, will be 91.7% in 2024-25 according to the OBR, then 92.8%, 93.2%, 93.2% before falling to 92.9% in 2028-29.’

He added: ‘Our underlying debt is therefore on track to fall as a share of GDP, meeting our fiscal rule. We continue to have the second lowest level of government debt in the G7, lower than Japan, France or the United States.’

Mr Hunt went on: ‘We also meet our second fiscal rule for public sector borrowing to be below 3% of GDP three years early. Borrowing falls from 4.2% of GDP in 2023-24, to 3.1%, 2.7%, 2.3%, 1.6% and 1.2% in 2028-29. By the end of the forecast, borrowing is at its lowest level of GDP since 2001.’

The Chancellor claimed ‘none of that would be possible if Labour implemented their pledge to decarbonise the grid five years early by 2030’.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he would maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for a further 12 months.

He said: ‘The shadow chancellor complained about the freeze on fuel duty and Labour has opposed it at every opportunity. The Labour Mayor of London wants to punish motorists even more with his Ulez plans. But lots of families and sole traders depend on their car. If I did nothing fuel duty would increase by 13% this month.’

Mr Hunt added: ‘I have as a result decided to maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for a further 12 months. This will save the average car driver £50 next year and bring total savings since the 5p cut was introduced to around £250.

‘Taken together with the alcohol duty freeze, this decision also reduces headline inflation by 0.2 percentage points in 2024-25 allowing us to make faster progress towards the Bank of England’s 2% target.’

Pictured: Jeremy Hunt with Rishi Sunak at Nissan in Sunderland last November

Alcohol duties will remain frozen until February 2025, Jeremy Hunt said, with the aim of ‘backing the great British pub’.

The Chancellor told the Commons: ‘In the autumn statement I froze alcohol duty until August of this year. Without any action today, it would have been due to rise by 3%.’

He said he had listened to representations from MPs about the tax, adding: ‘So today I have decided to extend the alcohol duty freeze until February 2025. This benefits 38,000 pubs all across the UK – and on top of the £13,000 saving a typical pub will get from the 75% business rates discount I announced in the autumn.

‘We value our hospitality industry and we are backing the great British pub.’

Pictured: Mr Hunt holds a pint at The Keep pub in Guildford, Surrey, in July 2019

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed he has decided to maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for a further 12 months.

A fund aimed at supporting vulnerable households with the cost of living will be extended a further six months beyond March, the Chancellor said.

Jeremy Hunt told the Commons: ‘Next the Household Support Fund. It was set up on a temporary basis and due to conclude at the end of this month.’

He added: ‘I have decided that – with the battle against inflation still not over – now is not the time to stop the targeted help it offers. We will therefore continue it at current levels for another six months.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the extension of the alcohol duty freeze until February 2025, benefiting 38,000 pubs across the UK.

Jeremy Hunt said he wanted to focus on people falling into debt, saying: ‘Nearly one million households on Universal Credit take out budgeting advance loans to pay for more expensive emergencies like boiler repairs or help getting a job.

‘To help make such loans more affordable, I have today decided to increase the repayment period for new loans from 12 months to 24 months.’

Mr Hunt said a debt relief order can cost £90 and deter people seeking one, adding: ‘Having listened carefully to representations from Citizens Advice, I today relieve pressure on around 40,000 families every year by abolishing that £90 charge completely.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said inflation is forecast to fall below the 2 per cent target in a few months’ time.

He told MPs: ‘When the Prime Minister and I came into office, it was 11 per cent. But the latest figures show it is now 4 per cent, more than meeting our pledge to halve it last year. And today’s forecasts from the OBR show it falling below the 2 per cent target in just a few months’ time, nearly a whole year earlier than forecast in the autumn statement.

‘That did not happen by accident. Whatever the pressures and whatever the politics, a Conservative government, working with the Bank of England, will always put sound money first.’

The Chancellor said the Government was in a position to deliver ‘permanent tax cuts’, and billed his financial statement as a ‘Budget for long-term growth’.

Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Because of the progress we’ve made, because we are delivering the Prime Minister’s economic priorities, we can now help families not just with temporary cost-of-living support, but with permanent cuts in taxation.’

He claimed Conservatives know ‘lower tax means higher growth. And higher growth means more opportunity, more prosperity and more funding for our precious public services’.

Mr Hunt warned that growth could not come from ‘unlimited migration’, but from a high skilled, high wage economy, and claimed Labour’s plans for government would ‘destroy jobs with 70 new burdens on employers’.

He added: ‘Instead of going back to square one, the policies I announce today mean more investment, more jobs, better public services, and lower taxes in a Budget for long-term growth.’

Jeremy Hunt has revealed fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is forecasting that inflation will fall below 2 per cent later this year.

This is a year ahead of the previous OBR statement. The Chancellor added: ‘That did not happen by accident.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt began his Budget speech by saying he would allocate £1million towards building a war memorial for Muslims who fought for the UK in past wars.

Mr Hunt said: ‘I start today by remembering the Muslims who died in two world wars in the service of freedom and democracy. We need a memorial to honour them, so following representations from the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid) and others, I have decided to allocate £1 million towards the cost of building one.

‘Whatever your faith or colour or class, this country will never forget the sacrifices made for our future.’

Jeremy Hunt said that because the Government is ‘delivering the Prime Minister’s economic priorities, we can now help families not just with temporary cost-of living-support, but with permanent cuts in taxation’.

The Chancellor added: ‘Conservatives know lower taxes mean higher growth.’

Here we go – Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has stood up and his Budget announcement will now begin. Stay with MailOnline for live updates.

The Conservative Government is going to ‘keep cutting taxes for hard working Scots’, the Prime Minister told MPs.

Speaking in the Commons, Rishi Sunak said: ‘(Stephen Flynn) claims to be supportive of the North Sea energy industry, why is it that he’s opposed all the measures we have taken to protect those jobs in Scotland over the past couple of years?

‘He also, he talks about tax in Scotland and England, I would just gently point out to him that thanks to the actions of the Chancellor and this UK Government, everyone in Scotland has received a significant tax cut from January this year and in contrast to the Chancellor’s last budget, the SNP’s budget put taxes up for working people.

‘Scotland is now the high tax capital of the UK but this Conservative Government is going to keep cutting taxes for hard working Scots.’

This came in response to Westminster SNP leader Stephen Flynn, who said: ‘The Conservative party want to use Scotland’s natural resources to pay for tax cuts in England, the Labour Party want to use Scotland’s natural resources to pay for nuclear power stations in England, and the cost of that up to 100,000 jobs.

‘Scotland’s wealth, Scotland’s resources, Scotland’s jobs all a gain to Westminster.’

The Prime Minister risks turning his Conservative colleagues in Scotland into nationalists, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn (pictured) said at PMQs.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Flynn said: ‘Much to my surprise this morning it’s been widely reported that the Conservative Party in Scotland are absolutely furious that Westminster is about to tax Scotland’s natural resources in order to pay for a tax cut in England.

‘Is the Prime Minister in danger of turning his colleagues in Scotland into nationalists?’

Rishi Sunak replied: ‘Obviously I wouldn’t comment on the Budget, but what I would say is that when I was in Scotland last week, it was crystal clear there has only ever been one party consistently standing up for the North Sea energy industry and it’s the Scottish Conservatives.’

During PMQs ahead of the Budget, Sir Keir Starmer also pressed the Prime Minister to introduce mandatory national standards for police vetting.

The Labour leader said reports ‘as long ago as’ 2012, 2019, 2022 and 2023 had raised concerns about vetting processes, adding: ‘That is why Labour has been arguing for mandatory national vetting standards, which would stop anybody with a history of domestic abuse or sexual offending being allowed to join the police in the first place. Why are mandatory national vetting standards not already in place?’

Rishi Sunak (pictured today) replied: ‘It is vital for public confidence that those that are not fit to wear the badge are rooted out of the police and not able to join in the first place. That is why the College of Policing has updated its existing statutory code on vetting and that happened quickly.

‘In addition the policing inspectorate carried out a rapid reinspection of all forces’ progress against the previous findings, and in addition to that an entire check against the national police database was carried out for all serving officers and staff.’

While Prime Minister’s Questions continues in the House of Commons, we’re just ten minutes away from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt beginning his Budget speech.

Ahead of the Budget announcement in the Commons, Sir Keir Starmer has questioned the Prime Minister why the Government has not done more to prevent further ‘horrendous’ crimes by police officers like Sarah Everard’s murder.

Opening Prime Minister’s Questions, the Labour leader said: ‘Three years ago Sarah Everard was walking home when she was abducted and murdered by a serving police officer who should have been trusted to keep her safe.

‘As a father I can’t imagine the pain her parents, her family and her friends are going through in this difficult anniversary week.’

Sir Keir said the Angiolini Inquiry report ‘exposes the appalling failure in police vetting and in misconduct processes’, adding: ‘I am very troubled by its conclusion that there is ‘nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight.’ How can that be the case three years on from this horrendous crime?’

Rishi Sunak said Sarah Everard’s murder was an ‘absolutely shocking case’, adding that ministers ‘took action quickly to strengthen police vetting, strengthen the rules for rooting out officers who are not fit to serve’.

He added: ‘We are now ensuring that any officer who has been charged for a crime will be suspended from duty automatically until their case has concluded and we will thoroughly consider all of the report’s recommendations and respond in full.’

David Wilcock, MailOnline’s deputy political editor, is watching PMQs as discussion is held about the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021:

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is taking questions in the House of Commons this afternoon before Chancellor delivers the Budget. Watch it live here:

The Daily Mail’s political editor Jason Groves has said ConservativeHome data on the Cabinet league table ‘suggests Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak have got work to do this afternoon’:

Just ahead of PMQs, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack told the Commons that austerity is ‘not a thing under this Government’.

Speaking during Scotland questions, Mr Jack (pictured) was heckled by the SNP benches as he said: ‘This is nonsense, austerity is not a thing under this Government, not a thing at all.

‘Departmental, absolutely not, departmental spending, this is the point the SNP don’t acknowledge, departmental spending throughout this Parliament has grown by 3.2 per cent on average, that’s the simple truth.’

This came in response to SNP spokesperson Gavin Newlands, who said: ‘Capital funding to Scottish Parliament hasn’t just been cut it has been slashed by 10 per cent on his watch, that’s money that could have been used to invest in hospitals, schools and infrastructure.’

Mr Newlands added that it is the UK Government’s austerity ‘which is driving public services to the edge’.

It’s time for Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, which is starting now. Stay with MailOnline’s Budget liveblog for all the latest updates.

Rishi Sunak is seen leaving 10 Downing Street this morning on his way to Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons:

Prime Minister’s Questions with Rishi Sunak will begin in the House of Commons in ten minutes’ time at 12pm.

This will be followed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget at 12.30pm.

We’ve now been sent some behind-the-scenes pictures of Jeremy Hunt preparing to leave 11 Downing Street to present the Budget Box with his colleagues.

He can be seen alongside Treasury politicians Laura Trott, Nigel Huddleston, Gareth Davies and Bim Afolami:

Watch a video of Darren Jones, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, claiming the Budget will ‘not be enough to repair the damage’ done to the economy by the Tories.

In the promotional video released by the Treasury, Jeremy Hunt pleaded with the UK to back him and not ‘throw away’ the work done to repair the economy.

The economy slipped into a technical recession at the end of 2023 and the Tories are around 20 points behind in the polls, meaning Mr Hunt is under pressure to revive both growth and the Conservatives’ election prospects.

Pleading with the public to back his plan, he said: ‘We’ve worked so hard to get through the really challenging period that we’ve come through. Don’t throw it away.

‘We can see now the economy is set for healthy growth. We’re putting more money into our public services and we’re bringing down taxes. Stick to the plan.’

We’ve now got video footage of the moment Jeremy Hunt awkwardly struggles to get back into 11 Downing Street after his Budget Box photocall:

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was pictured preparing the Opposition’s Budget response with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves this morning.

In a post on X, he said: ‘Preparing our Budget 2024 response with Rachel. If Labour is privileged enough to deliver the next budget, my mission-driven government will make working people better off for the long term.’

Jeremy Hunt suffered an embarrassing moment today as he struggled to get back into No.11 after his pre-Budget photocall.

A beaming Chancellor posed as usual with his team in Downing Street, wielding his Red Box for the cameras.

However, as he tried to re-enter the building he briefly found himself staring at a closed door, which had failed to open as usual.

Read the full story from MailOnline’s political editor James Tapsfield here:

Here’s a video of the big moment this morning – Chancellor Jeremy Hunt posing with the Budget Box with his team outside 11 Downing Street:

Jeremy Hunt is now appearing on the steps outside 11 Downing Street for his traditional photograph ahead of the Budget.

We’re now seeing photos of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosting the Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street before Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveils his Budget:

Jeremy Hunt briefed the Cabinet on his crucial pre-election Budget today as he prepares to unveil a 2p national insurance cut.

Laying out the Tory pitch to voters, the Chancellor is expected to offer relief to 27million workers. It will be worth £450 a year to a typical earner, but Mr Hunt will badge it as £900 taken with the previous reduction last Autumn.

Mr Hunt warmed up for what will be one of the biggest moments in his political career with a run earlier this morning. He will brief the Cabinet on the package alongside Rishi Sunak – who has been closely involved in drawing it up.

Read the full story from MailOnline’s political editor James Tapsfield:

The UK’s construction industry showed signs of stabilising last month with builders feeling the most optimistic in more than two years, according to a new survey.

The latest S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) scored 49.7 in February, up from 48.8 in February.

It comes in at just a fraction below the 50.0 threshold, with any score below indicating that output in the sector is shrinking, and anything above indicating that it is growing.

Here are the expected timings for the Budget today:

• Ongoing: Cabinet meeting at Downing Street
• 12pm: Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons
• 12.30pm: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his Budget
• 1.30pm: OBR publishes its latest economic and fiscal outlook

Shares in London edged up this morning as investors analysed a fresh batch of corporate earnings, but caution prevailed ahead of the Budget.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.3 per cent or 24 points to 7,672 this morning.

Market participants will remain squarely focused on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s presentation of the pre-election annual budget, due at 12.30pm today.

Daniela Hathorn, a senior market analyst at Capital.com, said: ‘There is positivity that there’s going to be fiscal steps to aid the suffering in the UK economy.

‘But at the same time, and this is what the Bank of England has been trying to do, is making sure that enabling consumers to have more purchasing power doesn’t spike up inflation.’

Labour has signalled it will look to bring in additional tax rises to fund public investment if it wins power, with Jeremy Hunt set to steal one of its central fundraising ideas.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to support the chancellor’s plan to take 2p off National Insurance Contributions (NICs) in the Budget this afternoon.

The change could save the average worker £450 a year, adding up to £900 when combined with last year’s move.

But the opposition in on the warpath amid claims that he is also ‘nicking’ its idea of recouping some of the lost revenue with a deep raid on non-dom taxpayers.

Here’s the full story from David Wilcock, MailOnline’s deputy political editor:

MailOnline’s political editor James Tapsfield has been speaking ahead of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget, expecting it to be ‘an interesting day’.

He reveals what to to expect from the statement, including a 2p National Insurance cut. Watch the video in full here:

The Treasury has issued this video of Jeremy Hunt talking about today’s Budget, saying that he wants to ‘bring down the tax burden’ and ‘change history’:

Here’s a video of more Cabinet ministers arriving today, including Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt:

More Cabinet ministers are now arriving at Downing Street this morning – including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins and Home Secretary James Cleverly:

Former Treasury minister Angela Knight has been on Sky News today explaining why Jeremy Hunt is expected to cut National Insurance rather than income tax:

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has been pictured walking into Downing Street to attend a pre-Budget Cabinet meeting this morning.

Darren Jones, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, has been reacting to today’s Budget plans from Jeremy Hunt.

He told Sky News that the Conservatives were ‘not only blowing up the doors on the house, they’re burning it down on the way out to try and make it as difficult as possible for us if we do win the election this year.’

The Chancellor is bound by his self-imposed fiscal rules, which include having national debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) falling by the end of a five-year period.

The gap between his tax and spending plans and the limits set by this rule is known as the headroom.

As well as potentially eating into this headroom – leaving less of a buffer to cope with unexpected events – Mr Hunt is likely to tinker with a few taxes to raise some extra cash.

The non-dom tax status for wealthy overseas individuals could be changed or scrapped and a levy on vapes could also help fill the Treasury coffers.

But the big prize for Mr Hunt would be economic growth – as well as generating extra tax income, an increase in GDP changes the balance when it comes to calculating the headroom available for meeting his fiscal rule.

Here’s the scene outside Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s official residence at 11 Downing Street in London this morning ahead of him announcing the Budget later on:

Here’s a video of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt going for a run near Downing Street today with his dog Poppy ahead of the Budget:

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister has urged the Chancellor to increase funding for capital projects in his spring Budget.

Shona Robison – who also controls the purse strings in Scotland – has been criticised for a more than £200million cut in funding for housing in the recently-passed Scottish budget. But she said in January that housing would be the ‘number one priority’.

Today, she said: ‘Today the Chancellor must not repeat the mistakes of the autumn statement – where £27 billion of fiscal headroom was used to fund tax cuts – and instead prioritise the investment needed for Scotland’s people and public services.’

if extra funding is provided from Westminster following the Budget.

Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin has told LBC News this morning that she is ‘on standby’ for an election as soon as May.

The Chairwoman for the Treasury Select Committee said the Prime Minister has said elections will likely be held off until later in the year, but that May is a possibility.

Watch a video of her comments here:

Jeremy Hunt is poised to unveil a 2p national insurance cut today as he lays out the Tory pitch to Britain.

In a crucial pre-election Budget, the Chancellor is expected to offer relief to 27million workers – typically worth £900 a year.

Here’s the latest story from MailOnline’s political editor James Tapsfield, which has just been posted:

BBC chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman has tweeted that Larry the cat has ‘stolen my space’ outside Downing Street this morning.

The pet’s official title is ‘Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office’ and he has been in residence since February 2011.

The easement of wine duty will not be made permanent because this would go against reforms to the industry, a Treasury minister has said.

Gareth Davies said the Government’s reforms, which include calculating alcohol duty based on strength, have ‘simplified’ the system for businesses.

In August last year, the Government introduced temporary legislation which means all wine between 11.5 per cent and 14.5 per cent ABV is treated as if it is 12.5 per cent ABV, for the purposes of calculating duty.

This is expected to come to an end in February 2025, despite the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) calling for it to be made permanent because ‘the long-term red tape burden is significant’.

Trade minister Greg Hands has backed scrapping the controversial ‘tourist tax’ in today’s Budget to give the economy a boost.

The former Conservative Party chairman said it would bring ‘benefits’ to the capital to reintroduce VAT-free shopping to foreign visitors.

He added his voice to those of hundreds of businesses who say the policy is harming the economy and benefiting cities like Paris where tourists do not have to pay the charge. Read the full story from the Daily Mail’s Whitehall editor Claire Ellicott:

Daily Mail cartoonist Jonathan Pugh has this drawing on the Budget in today’s newspaper:

Three-quarters of Tory activists want Jeremy Hunt to prioritise increased defence spending over tax cuts, a survey has revealed.

The study by grassroots website ConservativeHome found overwhelming support for the Chancellor boosting Britain’s defences in response to growing worldwide threats.

Read the full story from the Daily Mail’s political editor Jason Groves:

With polls suggesting Labour is on track to win the general election, Jeremy Hunt will use his Budget to set electoral dividing lines with Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

The Chancellor claimed that a Labour government would ‘destroy jobs with 70 new burdens on employers, reduce opportunities by halving new apprenticeships and risk family finances with new spending that pushes up tax’.

‘Instead of going back to square one, our plans mean more investment, more jobs, more productive public services and lower taxes, sticking to our plan in a Budget for long-term growth.’

Jeremy Hunt is making final preparations for his crucial pre-election Budget today as hopes mount that he could push through big tax cuts.

The Chancellor had an audience with the King at Buckingham Palace yesterday after finalising the package after months of wrangling.

There are signs that Mr Hunt will be able to unveil a move on personal taxes, regarded by many as essential for the Tories to have a chance of clawing back Labour’s massive poll advantage.

Read the full article from MailOnline’s political editor James Tapsfield and political correspondent Greg Heffer:

An SNP MP has accused the UK Government of leaving Scotland short-changed after analysis revealed the block grant will be the lowest since devolution.

Pete Wishart (pictured), the party’s longest-serving MP, has said the Scottish Government’s funding from Westminster would exacerbate the cost crisis facing households.

Analysis from the House of Commons Library suggests that Scotland’s block grant will consist of just 3.5 per cent of UK Government spending in 2023/24 and 2024/25, according to the Autumn Statement plans.

The research suggests it will be the first time the figure has dropped so low since the devolution settlement began. The previous low of 3.6 per cent was issued in 2014/15 and for three consecutive years from 2016/17.

But the UK Government said Scotland receives about 25 per cent more funding per person than equivalent spending in other parts of the UK.

Today’s Spring Budget has been the most leaked and briefed of all time, writes ALEX BRUMMER. The boldest measure – likely to be a further cut in National Insurance, after the two percentage point reduction in the Autumn Statement – looks nailed on.

Read the full analysis from the Mail’s City editor here:

Jeremy Hunt could shave more off his post-election public spending plans to fund giveaways, reducing overall departmental spending – currently pencilled in to rise by 1 per cent per year in real terms after 2025 – to 0.7 per cent.

Experts have warned of a possibly implausible spending squeeze after the election that could harm strained public services.

In a sign he could go down that path, Mr Hunt defended austerity, saying it was only because the Government ‘reduced the deficit’ that it could ‘generously’ help people during the pandemic.

Jeremy Hunt has said he will not pay for tax cuts with borrowing, meaning a combination of spending cuts and tax rises elsewhere will be necessary.

Tax rises could include a levy on vapes, a tax raid on owners of short-term holiday lets, and the scaling back of non-dom tax relief – a policy previously advocated by Labour and opposed by ministers.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News that if the Tories steal the measure ‘we’ll have to look at other alternatives’ to fund Labour’s NHS spending plans ‘because we’ve already made those commitments’.

A possible extension of the energy windfall tax faced fierce opposition from Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Resolution Foundation think tank said the biggest net beneficiaries of the national insurance cut, combined with threshold freezes, are those earning £50,000, while those earning £19,000 or less will actually be worse off.

Jeremy Hunt is poised to deliver long-awaited personal tax cuts when he presents his Budget today, but don’t be fooled by any grand measures — your tax bill is still likely to be bigger than ever.

Read Jessica Beard’s analysis in this article for Mail+. If you’re not already subscribed, you can click on the article then follow the instructions to enjoy your first month for free.

Experts said that a 2p reduction in national insurance contributions would not by itself be enough to stop the tax burden reaching record levels by the end of this decade.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the measure would not prevent taxes rising to about 37 per cent of GDP by 2028-29.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour is ‘now the party of economic responsibility’ as she accused the Tories of overseeing ‘fourteen years of economic failure’.

She said: ‘The Conservatives promised to fix the nation’s roof, but instead they have smashed the windows, kicked the door in and are now burning the house down.

‘Taxes are rising, prices are still going up in the shops and we have been hit by recession. Nothing the Chancellor says or does can undo the economic vandalism of the Conservatives over the past decade.’

Labour also said any reductions would be cancelled out by the Government’s continued freeze on tax thresholds, meaning more people are dragged into a higher band as their pay increases.

Britons have revealed their concerns over inheritance tax, childcare costs, electric car costs and the housing market as Jeremy Hunt prepares to reveal his Budget.

As he aims to set dividing lines with Labour ahead of the general election later this year, MailOnline has spoken to more than 20 households about their finances:

A series of photographs were released by the Treasury last night of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt preparing for the Budget in his office at 11 Downing Street.

In comments ahead of his Budget, Mr Hunt said: ‘Because of the progress we’ve made because we are delivering on the Prime Minister’s economic priorities we can now help families with permanent cuts in taxation.

‘We do this not just to give help where it is needed in challenging times. But because Conservatives know lower tax means higher growth. And higher growth means more opportunity and more prosperity.’

He added that growth ‘cannot come from unlimited migration’, but ‘can only come by building a high-wage, high-skill economy’.

Two former home secretaries have criticised the plans for Jeremy Hunt’s Budget.

Suella Braverman said ‘my preference would be 2p off the basic rate of income tax’, while Dame Priti Patel has called for the unfreezing of income tax thresholds.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been pictured this morning going for a run with his dog Poppy near Downing Street in London ahead of the Budget:

Jeremy Hunt was widely reported to have defied calls from some in Downing Street and many Conservative MPs to reduce income tax, which is more expensive but better understood by many voters.

They were concerned another National Insurance reduction would not be enough to boost Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party’s dire poll ratings, after the last one failed to move the dial.

But Mr Hunt was said to have taken the decision to cut National Insurance after fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded the amount of fiscal headroom available for delivering tax cuts or spending commitments, within the Chancellor’s self-imposed rule of having debt falling as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2029.

An income tax cut, previously promised by Mr Sunak, could reportedly still feature in a fiscal event later this year or in the Conservative election manifesto.

Let’s start with a look at the top Budget story on MailOnline today, which is that Jeremy Hunt will slash National Insurance by another 2p today in a tax-cutting drive ahead of the next election.

Whitehall sources told the Daily Mail that the Chancellor will press ahead with a second consecutive 2p cut in personal tax today, leaving the average worker £900 a year better off.

Read the full story from the Daily Mail’s political editor Jason Groves here:

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the Budget today.

Jeremy Hunt is expected to make a 2p cut to national insurance central to his Budget, which he said would deliver ‘more opportunity and more prosperity’.

The Chancellor promised ‘permanent cuts in taxation’ that would bring ‘higher growth’ as he seeks to woo voters ahead of this year’s general election.

He looks likely to announce a cut in national insurance by a further two percentage points later today, matching a cut in the Autumn Statement.