hello, and a very warm welcome to the programme. it is an extremely busy day today, we will be talking about the budget shortly, but first of all its focus on what has been going on in the us. where super tuesday is wrapping up with the final polls now closed. it is the biggest day so far in the race for the white house. voters in 15 us states, and one territory, have now had their say on their choice for candidates for president. as we go to air, polling stations in alaska are closing. the most popular candidate in each state will be awarded delegates. candidates need to win a certain number to get their parties nomination for the presidential election in november. joe biden and donald trump have ended super tuesday in dominant fashion. the two men are almost certain

to face each other again in november's election. let's get the latest from our chief presenter sumi somaskanda. who has been watching it all unfold there. so, in california, no surprises. that's absolutely right, sally. to give you an idea of where we are, we have been taking in the evening and watch party at the university of southern california with a bunch of students and community members who came to see the results come across. as you said, but donald trump, joe biden sweeping victory here, that is exactly what was expected. we know for donald trump in particular the state was important, 169 gop delegates up for grabs, he has taken those with him on his march toward securing the nomination. what is interesting to see is a lot of the issues we have heard from voters here in california and where we were previously, in arizona, a battleground state, reflect what we saw in

exit polls coming out from super tuesday. voters are worried about the economy, cost of living, and they worried about immigration. we are spoken young voters about the two issues and herfrom quite young voters who said they did not want to vote in the primary because they feel that the candidates and the parties are not listening to them. but all in all and not listening to them. but all in alland think not listening to them. but all in all and think it is safe to say those of the two issues that have been dominating this election campaign, this rematch, as you say, between joe biden and donald trump. in joe biden and donald trump. in terms of voter apathy, that is too strong a term to use, no, in this scenario, but it has been hard for the democrats to get people to come forward and vote for biden.— vote for biden. yes, that's ri . ht. vote for biden. yes, that's right- we _ vote for biden. yes, that's right. we were _ vote for biden. yes, that's right. we were interesting| vote for biden. yes, that's. right. we were interesting a little —— watching a little bit earlier at an event here on super tuesday, we saw the crowd, a bunch of students being asked are you excited about voting forjoe biden and very few people raised their hands. they were then asked would you vote forjoe biden

over donald trump and this is a crowd of liberals, and they raise their hands. one of the issues the democrats have is coming up enthusiasm forjoe biden as they can do. there are plenty of democrats that would say the primary is not what they care about by going to a general election they will cast a ballot forjoe biden, but there is certainly plenty of work to do for the biden campaign to convince more voters. it is important to note that a lot of the voting we have seen does not look good for the biden campaign, then strong on the economy for biden or immigration for biden, they are areas where they tend to trust former president donald trump. voter apathy, a lack of enthusiasm, they issued his campaign will have to overcome to win that vote.— to win that vote. sumi, for now, to win that vote. sumi, for now. thank— to win that vote. sumi, for now, thank you _ to win that vote. sumi, for now, thank you very - to win that vote. sumi, for now, thank you very much | now, thank you very much indeed. sumi somaskanda joining us from los angeles. let's take a closer look at the republican results. as we've heard, the reason donald trump has wanted such a strong showing, is to force

his rival nikki haley out of the race. she's vowed to stay in the contest, though her campaign is on life support. at this stage, she's only projected to win the state of vermont, the second win of her campaign after taking washington, dc earlier in the week. live now to virginia, steve herman is chief national correspondent with voice of america news. so, steve, donald trump is not getting the clean sweep he wanted. , , wanted. yes, sally, you mentioned _ wanted. yes, sally, you mentioned the - wanted. yes, sally, you mentioned the only - wanted. yes, sally, you i mentioned the only silver lining therefore nikki haley, which really spelt donald trump's suite tonight, the state of vermont, it is one of the country's least populated and smallest states. it is not going to do anything to put bumps in the road for this glide path that donald trump is going to have to be nomination, because this is all about the delegates and he is probably

next week going to clinch the number of delegates he will need for the national convention in the summer. it need for the national convention in the summer. it is unexpected. — convention in the summer. it is unexpected, though, that she will stand down at this point, what are people say now about nikki haley's next move? it is nikki haley's next move? it is a real big _ nikki haley's next move? it is a real big question _ nikki haley's next move? it 3 a real big question and there is a lot of speculation about what she is going to do. the most common speculation you will hearfrom most common speculation you will hear from the political pundits is this is a warmup for four years from now and if trump loses to biden she can say "itold you so, you should have picked me, the pulse and the one who could be biden." so in 2028 maybe she gets an early lead in what will obviously be a huge pack of republicans running. or does she decide to go for a third party process, which would probably make her even more of a pariah to the trump republicans and perhaps

not allow her to be much of a viable contender four years from now. viable contender four years from "ow-— viable contender four years from now. �* , ., ., ~ from now. and you are thinking on what this — from now. and you are thinking on what this all— from now. and you are thinking on what this all means - from now. and you are thinking on what this all means in - on what this all means in november.— on what this all means in november. ~ . �* november. well, what we're lookinu november. well, what we're looking at — november. well, what we're looking at is _ november. well, what we're looking at is obviously - november. well, what we're| looking at is obviously unless something really dire happens, a rematch from what we have seen four years ago. joe biden has no real opposition. the only speedbump he is running into is these uncommitted protest votes because of gaza that started in michigan and about 20% of those who cast democratic party votes voted uncommitted. he also lost a very insignificant caucus way out in the south pacific in american samoa, where a tech investor from american samoa, where a tech investorfrom bolts american samoa, where a tech investor from bolts amata, maryland, who nobody is really heard from, jason palmer, got 51 votes to biden�*s a0. that is

nearly bumpy road so far. we shau nearly bumpy road so far. we shall continue _ nearly bumpy road so far. we shall continue with the conversation about the outlook forjoe biden. thank you for your thoughts on the programme. let's unpack that a little further. joe biden, meanwhile, has won democratic nominating contests in 1a states, plus iowa, where people voted by post. this was expected as president biden is virtually running unopposed. but, as we've heard, some democratic voters decided to opt for a protest vote againstjoe biden, unhappy with his handling of the israel—gaza war. when all votes are tallied the number of american who voted for uncommitted will be cause for concern for the biden campaign. as you are hearing just there. let's speak now to nora vargas, chairwoman of the san diego county board of supervisors, and democrat. nora, are you concerned about what super tuesday is telling us about the support for

president biden?- us about the support for president biden? ., ~ ., president biden? no, think what su er president biden? no, think what super tuesday — president biden? no, think what super tuesday showed _ president biden? no, think what super tuesday showed us - president biden? no, think what super tuesday showed us today | super tuesday showed us today is we have a clear, clear distinction between two candidates, someone like trump who wants to take us back, turn back the clock on women. you know, last night in france they enshrined abortion rights and here in the united states we have a candidate like trump who has a proven track record of turning back the clock for women. and as a former planned parenthood, you know, advocate and someone who has been in the trenches, really do believe that reproductive freedom is going to be on the ballot in november and we have a clear choice and that choice is a supporting president biden. 50. supporting president biden. so, ou have supporting president biden. so, you have highlighted one of the big issues that, as you say, will no doubt be on the minds of voters in november and, of course, more than 50% of those voters are women. but let's talk about the economy, let's talk about the economy, let's talk about the other issues, about gaza, and the reason why

so many young democrats are just putting uncommitted in the box at the moment.— box at the moment. yes, think is a party _ box at the moment. yes, think is a party we — box at the moment. yes, think is a party we still _ box at the moment. yes, think is a party we still have - box at the moment. yes, think is a party we still have a - box at the moment. yes, think is a party we still have a lot - is a party we still have a lot of work to do to make sure we get our message across to ensure that not only young voters by voters in general are excited about the work that the biden administration has done for our communities. as a county supervisor, cantilevered and that the waders present handled the pandemic and the funding we got from the american rescue plan was exactly what we needed to make sure that our communities were healthy and safe. you know, we can talk about the numerous amount ofjobs that were created and how it impacted our communities, in california, and many of our communities, small business is really the background and the backbone of our communities, so i think we have a clear choice in ensuring we get the message at that president biden is the right person for us. not only for democrats, but also independence in this country who really do believe that we

need to move forward and not backwards. in need to move forward and not backwards-— backwards. in terms of you sa in: backwards. in terms of you saying he _ backwards. in terms of you saying he is _ backwards. in terms of you saying he is the _ backwards. in terms of you saying he is the right - backwards. in terms of you | saying he is the right person for the democrats, was it more there wasn't another person? i there wasn't another person? i think that when somebody is doing a good job i think we need to continue to have the same person, you know, lead us as we are moving forward. i think president biden has the wisdom, the experience, the knowledge, and, more than that, he has a team of folks who are working in the administration and on the ground who understand our communities and the diversity of our communities and really values who we are as americans. and i think does what we have to make sure we remind voters, especially young voters, as we move forward.— especially young voters, as we move forward. 0k, nora vargas, thank you _ move forward. ok, nora vargas, thank you for— move forward. 0k, nora vargas, thank you for sharing _ move forward. 0k, nora vargas, thank you for sharing your - thank you for sharing your thoughts. chairwoman of the board of supervisors and a democrat, as you had there. let's carry on with the coverage looking at the exit polling of super tuesday, doing as a clear picture of the key

issues of voters ahead of november's election. among the top concern for voters in a number of states, immigration. in california, for example, the us border is a focal point as texas tightens its border, sending margaret's further west. —— migrants. let's speak to robert cahaly, republican strategist and pollster from the trafalgar group. he's in atlanta. good you have you on the programme. first of all, what is your top line when it comes to the outcome of super tuesday?_ to the outcome of super tuesday? to the outcome of super tuesda ? ., . , ., ~ tuesday? the rematch is on. a lot of americans _ tuesday? the rematch is on. a lot of americans have - tuesday? the rematch is on. a lot of americans have been - lot of americans have been sitting back trying to figure out whether they are going to get rocky three or something different. so going to a third one. this is the rematch nobody wants yet that is exactly what they have got, because the way they have got, because the way the system is set up and, like you said before, you reward a

president with another four years even if it is marginal whether you think he has done a good job. whether you think he has done a goodjob. so whether you think he has done a good job. so biden has meant the qualification of being marginal. the second trump left the last election with so many republicans believing that he didn't actually lose. i mean, the exit poll still backs this up. you get the majority of people voting in the primary do not believe he lost the last time. that is quite a motivator. that is quite a get it right kind of mindset and it leads people to say yes, they want that rematch. just leads people to say yes, they want that rematch.— leads people to say yes, they want that rematch. just to say, 'ust want that rematch. just to say, just quickly. — want that rematch. just to say, just quickly, what _ want that rematch. just to say, just quickly, what you - want that rematch. just to say, just quickly, what you think- just quickly, what you think nikki haley will do now and what will that mean for donald trump? i what will that mean for donald trum - ? ~ . , what will that mean for donald trum? ~ . , , trump? i think nikki haley is ve , trump? i think nikki haley is very. very — trump? i think nikki haley is very. very smart. _ trump? i think nikki haley is very, very smart, what - trump? i think nikki haley is very, very smart, what she l trump? i think nikki haley is l very, very smart, what she has recognised this, like it or not, right now the republican party is this kind of america first party and there is not a place for her in it. so i think

she is using this opportunity to build relationships, both with donors and the mainstream media, so that she has, you know, can be like the liz cheney on tv or become a commentator. think she has to plan out what she does in the next a— eight years, seemingly party might not, in her mind, be done with america first. she is not going to change your beliefs to fit in with that. so she is using this as a platform for not selection 202a but what is happening in 2028 or beyond. in november, i'd like to get your take on who you think will win the election, because you did make the right call back in 2016, is that right?— 2016, is that right? yes. both in 2016 and — 2016, is that right? yes. both in 2016 and 2020, _ 2016, is that right? yes. both in 2016 and 2020, we - 2016, is that right? yes. both in 2016 and 2020, we had - 2016, is that right? yes. both in 2016 and 2020, we had the lowest error rates of any major us polling firm, of all of them. so we expect it will be in the same area this year.

this year will tell you right now, give the advantage to the democrats until somebody shows me republicans have figured out how to equal the get out the vote operation the democrats do in the last six weeks. they have quite an effective machine, it is probably the best it has ever been. and moneyjust best it has ever been. and money just doesn't best it has ever been. and moneyjust doesn't beat that. you take voters who are luke warm on voting and you bring them to the polls and get them to vote you can overcome a lot of problems. to vote you can overcome a lot of problems-— of problems. 0k, interesting. robert cahaly, _ of problems. 0k, interesting. robert cahaly, thank - of problems. 0k, interesting. robert cahaly, thank you - of problems. 0k, interesting. robert cahaly, thank you for. robert cahaly, thank you for your time. robert cahaly, thank you for yourtime. interesting robert cahaly, thank you for your time. interesting to get your time. interesting to get your take on all of that. just to say, we have a live page on our website, the super tuesday lipase which is updating all the time, so do take a look. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. some stories making news in the uk: birmingham city councillors have voted to approve drastic cuts to local services, and a 21% rise to council

tax by 2025. the largest local authority in europe had declared itself in effect bankrupt and needs to make £300 million in savings. cabinet minister michelle donelan has had to pay damages to an academic after wrongly suggesting the professor had publicly expressed sympathy for hamas. it's understood the costs paid to professor kate sang — which are undisclosed — have been covered by the taxpayer. junior doctors in northern ireland are set to begin strike action for the first time this morning. the walkout about pay will see them withdraw from hospitals and gp surgeries for 2a hours. a newly qualified doctor in northern ireland earns £26,000 pounds per year. in england, the starting rate is over £33,000. in scotland it's £32,000. more details on our website. you're live with bbc news.

let's focus on the day ahead for the chancellor, jeremy hunt, who is expected to announce cuts to national insurance 2p in the pound in the budget. he's expected to say he can provide families with "permanent cuts in taxation", which he hopes voters will see as a turning point for the economy ahead of the election. mr hunt has been under pressure, particularly from tory mps, to cut taxes currently at an historic high. our political correspondent has more on what the expect. well, this budget today comes at a key moment for the government. the government has to call an election sometime this year and it is, of course, trailing heavily in the polls behind the opposition labour party. on top of that, what we have already had is at the end of last year a tax cut to

national insurance, the levy on workers, which was brought in ijy workers, which was brought in by the chancellor, that hasn't shifted the position in the bowl. in fact, since then the economic news, if anything, has got was the government because the economy here is now flatlining orjust tipped into recession. so this is the key moment where the government feels it has an opportunity to try to reset the agenda again and what many conservative mps, including the prime minister, say they favour our tax cuts for individuals. a question then for the chancellor, how is he going to do that? all the talk has been about a further cut to that national insurance levy, that is one that benefits workers, so you can tell that is cheaper than the other option, which is a cut to the income tax rate. that is broader, so it is more costly. some conservative mps would like to see that because they think it would be more popular. the issue, though, the chancellor also faces in the

government faces, is how are they going to raise the money for this? there is some talk where they can actually take policies of the opposition that they have been promoting, so tax breaks for foreigners who have their permanent home abroad, who live in the uk, the labour party want to scrap that. there has been talk about the government talking about maybe using that idea and also extending the windfall tax that has been levied recently on oil and gas profits. the overall picture, though, that the opposition will say, if this doesn't take away from the fact, even if tax cuts come, don't take away from the fact that the overall level of taxation year is at a multi— decade high and people are not feeling better off because of it. what the government will hope is that they can point to a future when, they say, taxes will be coming down. damian grammaticas there. let's speak to laura silver, editor of politics home, a website and political podcast

covering westminster. good morning to you. a busy day for you as well as us and, of course, government. so what are you hearing in westminster in anticipation of this budget and what it may or may not do in terms of helping the governing party stay in power. i terms of helping the governing party stay in power.— party stay in power. i think the pressure, _ party stay in power. i think the pressure, he _ party stay in power. i think the pressure, he is - party stay in power. i think the pressure, he is really l the pressure, he is really focusing on personal taxes because he needs to make a difference with voters and for people to feel like there personal finances different so they can close the polling outcome is also facing huge pressure from within the conservative party, many of whom want to see huge tax cuts. the conversation magazine over the last week and as we saw from priti patel last night as well is a lot of tory mps want him to go further, they want him to go further, they want him to go further, they want him to cut income tax because people notice that more, i think, but they also don't want him to offset this by raising taxes elsewhere. so the getting

rid of tax breaks and second homes, a lot of tory mps see that as giving with one hand and taking away with the other, so even if he does achieve a bit of a pole close, people feel their personal finances are better, than he is at risk of tory mps mobilising and complaining that this is still a really high level of tax for the uk and that they want more. and he himself would say and argue "iwant to be able to do more" but sadly the way the economics are at the moment, the way the uk economy is doing in terms of not growing, flatlining, and of course the servicing of debt and that cost being more than was expected at that time, he has not got that wiggle room. that time, he has not got that wiggle room-— wiggle room. and i think the assessment _ wiggle room. and i think the assessment he _ wiggle room. and i think the assessment he has - wiggle room. and i think the assessment he has received| wiggle room. and i think the i assessment he has received is from the office of budget responsibility last week is how the government can justify any changes it makes any budget was

definitely not as optimistic as he had hoped and i think there were billions knocked off of the amount of money they had to play with. so i think if you look at the language from hunt, it is very cautious commenters about long—term plan, and very much says "we want to do this but we can't do it now". i think that make sense and the government is also going to have in the back of their minds not picking the markets as liz truss did, whether or not that satisfies conservative mps who want to go into the elections and we have cut taxes across the board is another matter, really. the board is another matter, reall . ,., , the board is another matter, reall . , ., the board is another matter, reall. ., , really. the polls are really not in favour, _ really. the polls are really not in favour, as - really. the polls are really not in favour, as we - really. the polls are really not in favour, as we are i really. the polls are really i not in favour, as we are well aware, of the current government, of prime minister rishi sunak, etc, the conservative party, what you think the next move will be? when will they call the election, do you think? and when will we be going to the polls? they want, as you say, today's budget to help people feel better off, like they have more in their pockets and, therefore, they may trust this

government with more time. i think is very hard to imagine the government calling an election with this sort of polling. in november, when jeremy hunt's cut national insurance by the same amount they did not see the sort of pole bounce they wanted stops i would not be surprised if they don't see it again this time and therefore don't want to confidently call the election. a lot of tory mps do want them to call it now, they want to align it with me election so they don't have to get out twice, but i think we're still looking at an awesome election. 0k, looking at an awesome election. ok, laura, good to talk to you, thank you very much indeed. and we will be having a lot more on the budget shortly. in our business coverage obi talking to business, what is small and medium—sized enterprises hoping for in this budget? we'll be talking about that in just a moment. now we must bring you other news. the worsening insecurity in haiti has prevented

the return of the prime minister, ariel henry, from an overseas trip. our correspondent will grant has the latest. the fact that the prime minister has ostensibly been turned away from the nation he runs is a sign ofjust how dysfunctional haiti has become in recent days. if it wasn't already it is now perilously close to being a failed state. now, ariel henry attempted to reach haiti from the us state of newjersey but he was turned away, told his plane could land, so it was diverted instead to puerto rico. that may impart have been procedural, since the state of emergency in haiti was declared all flights to the country have been cancelled and, of course, it was attacked, the airport, earlier this week by gangs and sustained some damage. the building is now being patrolled by the military and the police and they have essentially closed all operations in the

airport. the other reason, of course, may have been for mr henry's own well being, for his own safety, with as gangs lined up own safety, with as gangs lined up against him and determined to stop him from making it into the country, it may have simply been deemed it would be more of a hindrance to patient stability than a help at this stage. eitherway, it stability than a help at this stage. either way, it doesn't stage. eitherway, it doesn't look good for mr henry or his supporters, including those in washington. it perhaps makes him look weak if local authorities than him are overriding his desire to return to haitian soil. so he has little choice except to sit in puerto rico and strategise his next move. will grant there. let us show you the latest photo that has been issued by the treasury. this is the chancellor, jeremy hunt, preparing any last—minute changes to the spring budget of this year. this is him at number 11 downing street and on

our website we have got analysis, chris mason, our political editor, with kate carnell and sam francis, political reporters, have put their take on what we can expect. of course, we will be live with that budget when it does take place at 12:30pm. i will be back in a moment with the business use. —— news. hello there. we could see more sunshine around for wednesday than what we had on tuesday, particularly across eastern areas. so i think a brighter afternoon to come, but there will be some scattered showers around, especially across england and wales, and winds will generally stay quite light. we'll have high pressure anchored over scandinavia, low pressure out in the atlantic, trying to push this weather front ever closer towards our shores, but it could reach the west country as we move through the latter parts of this morning. elsewhere, we're starting off with a lot of cloud across the east of the country. that will tend to melt away, though. it stays cloudy for eastern scotland, northeast england. some sunshine for east anglia and the southeast, a few showers into the afternoon, east wales and the midlands, and temperature—wise, up to around 10—11 degrees, single digits along the north sea coasts, where we have the cloud

and the breeze. now, as we head through wednesday night, it looks like it stays dry for many. the showers fade away. we start to see some cloud rolling in to central and eastern areas, so where we have the cloud, more of a breeze, temperatures 2—5. under clearer skies further north and west, there could be a touch of frost. for thursday, then, we have low pressure anchored out towards the west and the southwest, that area of high pressure over scandinavia just edging a bit further westward, so influencing our weather more. could start to see an east, southeasterly wind picking up further, though, so quite a breezy day to come. plenty of sunshine around away from the east coast and there will be some afternoon showers again, particularly england and wales. probably the best of the sunshine, western scotland into northern ireland, western wales — top temperatures again, 11, maybe 12 degrees. into friday, you see more isobars on the charts. it's going to be windier, a strong east—southeasterly wind. that'll take the edge off the temperatures, push in some cloud to northern and eastern areas, particularly the northern half of the country. england and wales could at this stage see quite a bit of sunshine, but there'll always be showers loitering

close to the southwest. and a windy day to come for all — gusty winds, particularly windy across the south and the east thanks to that southeasterly wind. so, chillier along eastern coastal areas, up to around 11 or 12 further west. into the weekend, low pressure loiters to the southwest of the country, trying to push its way northwards, so it will introduce further showers or even longer spells of rain for southern and western areas. we could start to see a few showers developing further north and east as well. it will remain quite windy, with our wind coming in from the east or the southeast. that's it for me. take care.

live from london, this is bbc news. tax cut for workers — jeremy hunt is expected to announce a 2p cut to the national insurance rate as he hopes to stimulate a flagging economy crypto surge — bitcoin reaches a record high in another dramatic moment in the crypto currency�*s turbulent history. also on the programme — israel's economy minister tells the bbc that winning the war was the top priority despite the economic toll. and believing in unicorns in the face of a challenging economic landscape — can london remain a global tech destination?

hello. a warm welcome if you have just joined us. i am sally bundock. looking at the biggest business stories. in the uk one story dominates — it is budget day — critical for the chancellor and the conservative party as its likely this will be the last one before a general election. with the polls indicating voters are favouring the opposition what canjeremy hunt do to turn the tide? well, it's widely expected he will announce a 2p cut to the rate of national insurance paid by workers and this will cost around £10 billion. with the uk economy flat—lining many people are struggling with a cost of living crisis. colletta smith reports from warrington in the northeast of england.

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