they are really consider and they are really expensive so, yeah, the more money the better_ expensive so, yeah, the more money the better at— expensive so, yeah, the more money the better at the moment. the economy is _ the better at the moment. the economy is always _ the better at the moment. tie: economy is always front the better at the moment. the economy is always front and the better at the moment. t'u2 economy is always front and centre in an election year. it is certainly front and centre today. the battle for economic credibility is on. odesa, ukraine comes under attack as president zelensky visits along with the greek minister. donald trump's only challenger for the republican nomination for the white house dropped out of the race. and on newsnight at 10.30pm — we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus, we take a first look at what's on tomorrow's front pages.

good evening from newcastle, as the dust settles onjeremy hunt's budget, quite possibly the last, before the general election. you join us on the city's iconic quayside overlooking the magnificent river tyne, an area steeped in industrial history, and we've been gauging reaction here, to the chancellor's plans throughout the day. among his biggest annoucements, was a cut in national insurance, by 2p in the pound, for employees and the self—employed. full child benefits will be paid to households, where the highest—earning parent, is getting up to £60,000. the current limit is £50,000. and, the non—dom tax regime, for uk residents whose permanent home is overseas, is to be replaced with new rules, from april next year. well, the office for budget responsibility, says the overall tax burden, is actually set to reach its highest level for over 70 years.

while the government says spending on public services will rise by 1% above inflation, some areas could still see cuts in the future. the 0br also predicts inflation will fall to the government's 2% target within a few months, and the uk economy will grow by 0.8% this year, and 1.9% in 2025. sir keir starmer described the budget as "the last desperate act of a party that has failed," and said the conservatives aren't delivering the growth households need. we'll be hearing from colletta smith who's with me here in newcastle, and faisal islam, will be analysing all the numbers, but first, chris is live at westminster for us tonight. good evening. the economic and the political backdrop today is stark. the economy is flatlining. politically the conservatives find

their opinion poll ratings in the gutter. the chancellor faced their opinion poll ratings in the gutter. the chancellorfaced one heck of a challenge. how does he attempt to take that on? it is nigh on impossible in one budget, even a couple of budgets, and the chancellor's very character, his very approach to politics is to emphasise what he sees as a responsible caution. but how does that measure up to the prospect that many conservative mps fear, which is one of political oblivion. that is the central question today and this is how the chancellor attempted to take it on. budget day from every angle. t3 budget day from every angle. is this an election winner? _ budget day from every angle. is this an election winner? tradition, - an election winner? tradition, choreography. _ an election winner? tradition, choreography, and _ an election winner? tradition, choreography, and noisy- an election winner? tradition, i choreography, and noisy musical protest out in whitehall. jeremy hunt and his team in the focus. mr chancellor of the exchequer. this i

hunt and his team in the focus. mr| chancellor of the exchequer. this is a budaet chancellor of the exchequer. this is a budget during _ chancellor of the exchequer. this is a budget during a _ chancellor of the exchequer. this is a budget during a recession, - chancellor of the exchequer. this is a budget during a recession, albeit| a budget during a recession, albeit a budget during a recession, albeit a mild one, and interest rates remain high the chancellor acknowledged but he wanted to signal his instinct is to cut tax when he believes it is responsible. irate his instinct is to cut tax when he believes it is responsible. we can now help families _ believes it is responsible. we can now help families not _ believes it is responsible. we can now help families not just - believes it is responsible. we can now help families not just with i now help families not just with temporary cost of living support but with permanent cuts in taxation. find with permanent cuts in taxation. and here was the — with permanent cuts in taxation. and here was the headline measure on that, another cut in national insurance, tax paid by most workers. from april the 6th, 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%. employed national insurance will be cut from 896 to 6%.— cut from 896 to 6%. national insurance — cut from 896 to 696. national insurance was _ cut from 896 to 696. national insurance was cut _ cut from 896 to 696. national insurance was cut by - cut from 896 to 696. national insurance was cut by 2p - cut from 896 to 696. national insurance was cut by 2p in l cut from 896 to 696. national. insurance was cut by 2p in the cut from 896 to 696. national- insurance was cut by 2p in the pound a few months back, too.— a few months back, too. when combined _ a few months back, too. when combined with _ a few months back, too. when combined with the _ a few months back, too. when combined with the autumn - a few months back, too. wru2�*u combined with the autumn reductions it means 27 million employees will get an average tax cut of £900 per

year. 2 million self—employed will get a tax cut averaging £650. changes that make our system simpler and fairer. find changes that make our system simpler and fairer. �* ., , , and fairer. and there was this chan . e and fairer. and there was this change on — and fairer. and there was this change on child _ and fairer. and there was this change on child benefit. - and fairer. and there was thisi change on child benefit. from and fairer. and there was this - change on child benefit. from next month a parent will be able to earn more before losing it.— more before losing it. nobody earnina more before losing it. nobody earning under _ more before losing it. nobody earning under £6,000 - more before losing it. nobody earning under £6,000 will. more before losing it. nobody| earning under £6,000 will pay more before losing it. nobody - earning under £6,000 will pay the charge, taking 170,000 families out of paying it altogether. because of that nearly half a million families with children will save an average of £1300 next year. to with children will save an average of £1300 next year.— with children will save an average of £1300 next year. to pay for the tax cuts, of £1300 next year. to pay for the tax cuts. tax _ of £1300 next year. to pay for the tax cuts, tax rises _ of £1300 next year. to pay for the tax cuts, tax rises on _ of £1300 next year. to pay for the tax cuts, tax rises on business - tax cuts, tax rises on business class flights, holiday home owners, smoking, and vaping. duty on alcohol will be frozen until next february. fuel duty has also been frozen. then came the moment of political theft. the government will abolish the current tax system for non—doms. the

current tax system for non-doms. the chancellor current tax system for non—doms. the chancellor stealing a labour idea. current tax system for non-doms. the chancellor stealing a labour idea. i. chancellor stealing a labour idea. i aim to please all sides of the house and all of my budgets. 5ir aim to please all sides of the house and all of my budgets.— and all of my budgets. sir keir starmer. what _ and all of my budgets. sir keir starmer. what from _ and all of my budgets. sir keir starmer. what from labour . and all of my budgets. sir keirl starmer. what from labour who and all of my budgets. sir keir - starmer. what from labour who hoped to deliver their _ starmer. what from labour who hoped to deliver their own _ starmer. what from labour who hoped to deliver their own budget _ starmer. what from labour who hoped to deliver their own budget within - starmer. what from labour who hoped to deliver their own budget within a i to deliver their own budget within a matter of months. the to deliver their own budget within a matter of months.— to deliver their own budget within a matter of months. the last desperate act from a party _ matter of months. the last desperate act from a party that _ matter of months. the last desperate act from a party that has _ matter of months. the last desperate act from a party that has failed. - act from a party that has failed. britain — act from a party that has failed. britain in — act from a party that has failed. britain in recession. the national credit— britain in recession. the national credit cards maxed out. and despite the measures today, the highest tax burden— the measures today, the highest tax burden for— the measures today, the highest tax burden for 70 years. and the measures today, the highest tax burden for 70 years.— the measures today, the highest tax burden for 70 years. and he added... an economy — burden for 70 years. and he added... an economy smaller— burden for 70 years. and he added... an economy smaller than _ burden for 70 years. and he added... an economy smaller than when - burden for 70 years. and he added... an economy smaller than when the l an economy smaller than when the prime _ an economy smaller than when the prime minister entered downing street — prime minister entered downing street. the textbook definition of decline — street. the textbook definition of decline. that is their record. i mean. — decline. that is their record. i mean, after 14 years, who do they mean, after14 years, who do they actuatty— mean, after 14 years, who do they actually think feels better off? 0ther— actually think feels better off? other parties were pretty scathing, other parties were pretty scathing, too. . .

other parties were pretty scathing, too. , , �* , .,. other parties were pretty scathing, too. , , �* , .. ., other parties were pretty scathing, too. ,, �*, ., too. this is, let's face it, a last ditch, too. this is, let's face it, a last ditch. tone _ too. this is, let's face it, a last ditch, tone deaf _ too. this is, let's face it, a last ditch, tone deaf approach - too. this is, let's face it, a last ditch, tone deaf approach to i ditch, tone deaf approach to desperately try to recover in the polls. it is the embodiment of the tory party before the people. ah, tory party before the people. a bottom of the barrel budget. nothing to make _ bottom of the barrel budget. nothing to make families truly better off after— to make families truly better off after the — to make families truly better off after the catastrophic fall in living — after the catastrophic fall in living standards we have seen under the conservatives. this living standards we have seen under the conservatives.— the conservatives. this afternoon i had the chance _ the conservatives. this afternoon i had the chance to _ the conservatives. this afternoon i had the chance to put _ the conservatives. this afternoon i had the chance to put questions i the conservatives. this afternoon i had the chance to put questions to i had the chance to put questions to the chancellor on your behalf. i pointed out to him he is taking £20 billion more in tax in five years' time, even with today's cuts in national insurance. people are being clobbered, aren't they? for all of this talk about cuts, that's baloney, people are paying more. people are paying higher because the economy are set to go back to more growth. iiii economy are set to go back to more urowth. , ., economy are set to go back to more urowth, l, economy are set to go back to more urowth. i. ., growth. if you look at the thresholds, _ growth. if you look at the thresholds, they - growth. if you look at the thresholds, they are - growth. if you look at the i thresholds, they are frozen growth. if you look at the - thresholds, they are frozen as peoples incomes are rising, they are paying more. peoples incomes are rising, they are paying more-— paying more. even if you take account of— paying more. even if you take account of the _ paying more. even if you take account of the thresholds - paying more. even if you take | account of the thresholds what paying more. even if you take - account of the thresholds what you will see next year is a big cut in

taxation forfamilies will see next year is a big cut in taxation for families earning, the average income, it is a significant cut. ., ., . ,, cut. tonight “acket off, the battle lines for cut. tonight “acket off, the battle unesforthe— cut. tonight jacket off, the battle lines for the general _ cut. tonight jacket off, the battle lines for the general election - cut. tonight jacket off, the battle lines for the general election are | lines for the general election are becoming clearer. the economy centre stage. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. that is some of the politics, what about the economics? so, how do the figures on all the announcements, add up? faisal islam has been taking a look. the big picture here is that this is a really small budget without pre—election fireworks. is a really small budget save for one big policy shift and that is the 2p national insurance cut. it is significant. worth £11 billion a year in 2028/29. the chancellor's choice on finding the money for it divides up like this... some tax rises — notably extra tax for non—domiciled wealthy foreign residents, borrowed from the opposition. extending the energy levy — also an opposition policy,

vaping and other tax rises. you can see them over there. then, essentially the gap is bridged by some extra borrowing. but let's look at how those tax changes are effecting salaries — it's different depending on what you earn. when considered together with january's previous 2% rise its worth £900 on average per year for workers — significant. but it refunds only about half of the giant income tax rise that has arisen from the unprecedented 6 year freeze on income tax thresholds. it is different depending on what you earn. the overall impact is a win if you are in the middle, but earn, say, £15,000 ora higher salary, around £70,000, and you lose. the threshold freeze outweighs the national insurance cut so far. jeremy hunt would like to go further than that. to make all of this add up than that. to make all of this add up however and to fit inside the chancellor's self—imposed limits for the national debt he has had to sail

close to the wind, cutting his room for manoeuvre in that final year to under £9 billion. as you can see, thatis under £9 billion. as you can see, that is low by the standards of history and of recent chancellors. indeed any of the following could wipe out the most or all of this. that is again cancelling the fuel duty rise or a reasonable slight change in the forecast all the call to spend more on defence. all of this is predicated on really tight public spending totals. —— or the call. the chancellor says he can deliver with aland call. the chancellor says he can deliver with al and jones but for which there will be no pre—election spending review. —— and drones. the spending review. -- and drones. the government — spending review. —— and drones. t'u2 government has commitments spending review. —— and drones. tu2 government has commitments to increase spending on health care, on defence, overseas aid, that means you have got to see real cuts in other parts of the public service in areas like justice. areas like social care. in order to deliver those increases.— social care. in order to deliver

those increases. some of those unprotected _ those increases. some of those unprotected areas _ those increases. some of those unprotected areas are - those increases. some of those unprotected areas are showing| unprotected areas are showing constraint. overall the economic picture is better or less bad for an economy officially in recession. household disposable income, after inflation, is taking a battering and has been since the pandemic and wasn't due to recover for years. according to november's forecast, the recovery will happen two years earlier because of the tax cuts and growth. is that good news versus three months ago? yes. is it still a difficult picture over the last four years? yes. the chancellor wants the country to think this is a genuine turning point. it may take some time to feel that way. thanks very much. so what else did the chancellor announce today? there'll be a new tax on vapes from october 2026, following a consultation. and a one—off increase in tobacco duty, to ensure vaping remains cheaper than smoking. the chancellor also announced

a "one—off adjustment," to the level of air passenger duty, for travellers with non—economy tickets. and in an effort to make more properties available for rent to local people in tourist hotspots, he wants to abolish tax breaks on furnished holiday lets. the freeze on fuel and alcohol duty, has been extended into next year, while the vat registration threshold for small businesses, will be increased to £90,000, from april. and, the windfall tax on oil and gas companies, will last another 12 months. so do people feel better off after today's budget? after today's budget? our cost of living correspondent colletta smith has spent the day guaging reaction in tyneside. budgets are always a balancing act. when it comes to precision, steffi knows all about it. she is managing a growing business alongside a growing family. i have two young children at the moment and there are

two more on the way, which is exciting. so she's desperate for the chancellor to help with business as well as household costs. it has been extremely stressful over the past two years. our next stop is the quayside. so this is where the 5live gang are. steffi is going to be watching the budget with a team from bbc 5 live. this is fancy. but i'm heading off across the river to the other side of newcastle to the border of kenton and gosforth, with a real mix of incomes. and i am watching the budget with some extra musical accompaniment. so there is a big change here for child benefits. at the moment, those payments drop off when one person in the household starts earning £50,000. but from next month that rate is going up to £60,000 a year so that people will be able to earn more and still keep hold of those child benefit payments.

it could make a difference. laura is a nurse returning to work full—time in her maternity leave ends injune. so it would be great if it went up to 60, especially with us, because we do unsociable hours. that would bump it over the 50, so you potentially wouldn't get the benefits. that drop in national insurance payments means an average earner will be paying £450 less each year in national insurance payments, but it's not as straightforward as that because the rate that we start paying different levels of tax hasn't been increased. now, the resolution foundation say that means that the people earning between £27,000 and £59,000, they will be better off. but for anyone earning less than £27,000, they will be paying more in taxes overall. it doesn't feel like it's going to touch the sides. the tax cut is not the biggest thing i'm interested in. i would like to see our public services funded better.

small to medium enterprises need more help. increasing the child benefit will massively benefit a lot of working parents. that benefit will massively benefit a lot of working parents.— of working parents. that is something _ of working parents. that is something positive - of working parents. that is something positive we - of working parents. that is something positive we can| of working parents. that is - something positive we can take of working parents. that is _ something positive we can take away from it. , , ., something positive we can take away from it. , i. ., . ., , from it. this you touched on this in our from it. this you touched on this in your report. _ from it. this you touched on this in your report. the — from it. this you touched on this in your report, the government - from it. this you touched on this in i your report, the government focusing on tax cuts and that how they believe you grow the economy quickly there is concern in the wider public about public services so what have you heard? ah, about public services so what have you heard?— you heard? a lot of people saying the want you heard? a lot of people saying they want more _ you heard? a lot of people saying they want more spent _ you heard? a lot of people saying they want more spent on - you heard? a lot of people saying they want more spent on public. they want more spent on public services, no matter what their income level and in terms of who will benefit the most, the crucial figure is around £27,000 in terms of your annual income and if you are earning less than that, the likelihood is, after all of the announcements today, you are going to be worse off paying more tax as a consequence. here in the north—east, we are in an area of england that has the lowest average annual income

so people here will be hit harder by that than elsewhere but overall across the uk, we are talking about across the uk, we are talking about a third of the workforce potentially losing money. there was some relief provided by the chancellor, extending the household support fund which is the safety net that is propping up food banks across the length and breadth of the country at the moment and that was due to end in three weeks but now it has another six months to run. but today was really a budget for middle earners, so anyone earning more than around £27,000 is likely to be taking home more now in their pay packets, they might get a boost from the child benefit changes as well, but not enough to compensate for all the other rising costs they are being batted with, mortgages, rents, car insurance, food bills that are still on the up at the moment and the government have not touched any of that in the budget today. we are at a crucial moment because all of those extra direct payments to

households that have been made over the last couple of years have no totally finished and citizens advice today said this year could be more difficult for households than last year under the government are banking on the economic change but households are having to pay the bill in the meantime. ok. households are having to pay the bill in the meantime.— households are having to pay the bill in the meantime. oil and gas companies are warning the chancellor's decision to extend a windfall tax on profits will make "it impossible to plan investment for energy transition and the path to net zero". and scottish conservatives are also up in arms, as james cook reports from aberdeen. it's a very important part of the economy here in particular, but it's important... just last week, the prime minister was here in the northeast of scotland, insisting he was backing oil and gas. we have a track record of being the only major party that is supportive of the north sea industry, because i believe it's an important part of our country and our future. behind the scenes, the scottish tory leader, douglas ross, was urging rishi sunak and the chancellor not to extend a windfall tax on energy profits.

he failed. i'm going to continue to raise within government, with the chancellor and others, that this is the wrong choice and urge him to reconsider on that. and when the legislation comes forward to extend it, i'm going to use every mechanism available to oppose that legislation because i think it's the wrong choice, because we need to provide security and certainty to the sector to invest going forward, and the decision of the chancellor today doesn't do that. three of the conservatives' six scottish seats at westminster are here in the north east and the party had hoped that its strong support for oil and gas would help it in defending those seats. that task has now been made tougher for the tories. happy that he's decided to extend the windfall tax on the oil and gas industry. a profit making, making more than £1 billion of profit a week. it's right that that industry is taxed to fund public services while people are struggling to heat their homes. our absolute priority is that there should be a just transition. jobs should be protected.

people should have high quality, highly skilled jobs. and neither tories nor the labour party are prioritising the north—east of scotland or scotland in general in their decisions. big oilfirms insist extending the windfall tax risks investment, jobs and growth. but the scottish greens say north sea profits must be used to fund the shift to renewable energy now. james cook, bbc news, aberdeen. as we've been hearing, the chancellor says public spending will grow at 1% above inflation every year until 2029. some government departments, such as health and schools, have what's called protected budgets, which means areas unprotected could see cuts in theirfunding. one such department is the ministry ofjustice, and dominic casciani has been looking at the potential impact there of falling budgets. the government's challenges over public spending are enormous, and no more so than in crime and justice.

since 2019, it's reversed a cut in police numbers, it's recruited 20,000 extra officers, and as they solve more crimes, the defendants end up in places like this, luton crown court. it's running at capacity and there's a 65,000 case backlog nationwide. one of those serious cases is rape. since the pandemic, the average number of days it takes to complete a rape prosecution has gone up and up. it's a situation thatjudges say is a stain on the system, an injustice to all. judges today said they'd got a plan to deal with the worst, longest—delayed cases, but that's only going to work if the cash keeps coming in and crucially, there's somewhere to put the criminals once they're convicted. places like this, bedford prison up the road. last month, inspectors said that the conditions here were among the worst they'd seen. two—thirds of the inmates are being held on remand or waiting

for a trial date because of court backlogs, and that means they can't take part in rehabilitation. the government is building 20,000 extra and new prison cells. the blue line shows how ministers expect the prison population to rise, reaching 100,000 in a year orso. but look at the dotted white line. that's what officials calculate could be the worst outcome if all the new police arrest more criminals and judges jail them more quickly. we could run out of cells. today the chancellor committed £100 million to rehabilitation projects, but he took five times that away from day—to—day criminaljustice spending. his critics say that if we want safer streets, there's a price to be paid. let's take a look at some of the day's other news now, and ukraine's southern port city of odesa, has been hit in a missile strike during a visit by president zelensky and the greek prime minister.

let's get more from james waterhouse in the capital, kyiv. how serious was this attack? tit could have been very serious, kyriakos mitsotakis and volodymyr zelensky were hosting a joint press conference in the port of odesa went on at the kremlin said it carried out a precision strike, in its words, in a hangar containing drones on the same site. this is an area thatis on the same site. this is an area that is routinely hit by russia but we don't know if both world leaders were deliberately targeted but we know this was a near miss. you look at what witnesses said, at verified footage of the explosion, we are likely talking about an assault landing hundreds of metres away. volodymyr zelensky is no stranger to risk. he travelled to the front lines frequently in the past, where near misses might not necessarily be

reported. but what is clear here is that we know for the first time that a missile has landed precariously close and it could have been catastrophic for greece, a nato member, and ukraine, a country still at war and still being invaded. tzierr; at war and still being invaded. very close shave- _ at war and still being invaded. very close shave. james, _ at war and still being invaded. very close shave. james, thank you. nikki haley, the last remaining rival to donald trump for the republican presidential nomination, is pulling out of the race for the white house. it comes after mr trump and joe biden pretty much cleaned up in super tuesday's state primaries and caucuses, making a rerun of the 2020 election a virtual certainty. sarah smith has the story. # i'm proud to be an american...# donald trump was taking a victory lap before he had quite secured his party's nomination, but he knew it was now in the bag. they call it super tuesday for a reason. this is a big one. and they tell me, the pundits and otherwise, that there's

never been one like this. there's never been anything so conclusive. when he launched this campaign in the same room 16 months ago, he was not the favourite to win. in order to make america great and glorious again, i am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. four criminal indictments and his claims of politically—motivated persecution turbo—charged that campaign, his mugshot becoming an electoral asset. last night's results confirmed he is unstoppable, with only one exception, in leafy vermont. the biggest primary night of the year and some - fascinating results. let's take a look at vermont - because it looks like nikki haley is squeaking ahead. one surprise victory was not enough to keep nikki haley in a race that she could not win. pulling out, she quoted margaret thatcher, and did not quite endorse donald trump. it is now up to donald trump to earn the votes of those in our party

and beyond it who did not support him, and i hope he does that. her departure is a disappointment for all those republicans who would rather not vote for donald trump. what he could learn from her is that there's a portion - of the republican party that right now would prefer someone otheri than him and he probably needs to do something to earn their vote. - i usually vote democrat but, you know, i see something different in her, and i was, like, i will not change. they never give a woman a chance, i don't think they ever will. - give a woman a chance to get into the white house. - most voters say they don't want a rematch with the same old candidates as the last election, but that's the choice they're going to be stuck with. in this contest that nobody wanted, we have got two elderly gentlemen who each think the other is uniquely flawed and therefore beatable. joe biden is convinced when voters see and hear more of donald trump,

they will reject him. mr trump thinks thatjoe biden's age and his record in office make him unelectable. of course, only one of them will prove correct. sarah smith, bbc news, washington. back here, the secretary of state for science, michelle donelan, back here, the secretary of state forscience, michelle donelan, is facing a call to resign after she falsely accused and academic of supporting hamas. she agreed to pay damages and legal costs with the taxpayer footing the £15,000 bill. damian grammaticus is at westminster pulled what is the background to this? th pulled what is the background to this? ., pulled what is the background to this? . , , this? in a nutshell, the minister saw a tweet _ this? in a nutshell, the minister saw a tweet from _ this? in a nutshell, the minister saw a tweet from the _ this? in a nutshell, the minister saw a tweet from the academic, this? in a nutshell, the minister- saw a tweet from the academic, she misinterpreted it, did not make any checks, but wrote to this science body where the individual had an advisory role saying she was outraged and disgusted that they had been supporting hamas and they should be swift action and then published that on social media. an investigation about months cleared professor kate sang, she brought a libel action, the minister had to

retract in full, her department has said it has paid about £15,000 in damages and costs because it related to her official functions. damages and costs because it related to her officialfunctions. of the opposition parties say it is an outrage and she should pay it herself. at the acoma makes union, the user you, sate michelle donelan should resign, they have lost confidence in her, downing street says the primary step thinks she's an excellent minister and retains full confidence —— the ucu union. 0k, full confidence —— the ucu union. ok, thank you. returning to our top story of the budget today. we will see how the papers are responding. the financial times says the chancellor has left room to announce more tax cuts but suggests it announcements today failed to deliver a knockout punch. onto the guardian, a last desperate act is their take on events, saying taxes are at the highest levels since the 19405.

are at the highest levels since the 1940s. the daily express says the budget will turbo—charge the economy and says the announcement will help bring inflation down but the daily mirror says the budget and the economy is stagnant. the daily telegraph splashes on the national insurance, frankly telegraphed for the last few days! it says millions will benefit. let's get a final word from faisal islam, our economics editor, and chris mason at westminster. what has been the reaction of economists to the budget today? this is a economists to the budget today? tt 3 is a budget with a big reform of the heart, to shift the tax burden away from workers using the proceeds of a previous big income tax rise. it is a budget of plagiarism where they have taken big ideas from the opposition party in the year of an election, and it's a budget where the chancellor wants to communicate that he has a plan, he accepts he has grown at the sight of the state and the tax burden but from now on

that will shrink. what he needs an acknowledged had not yet happened was a turnaround in the economy. if he gets that, the forecast could improve and perhaps there is another budget like event before the election and he could offer those pre—election fireworks closer to the autumn. pre-election fireworks closer to the autumn. . ~ pre-election fireworks closer to the autumn. ., ,, , ., , pre-election fireworks closer to the autumn. ., ,, i. , , , autumn. ok, thank you. chris is this autumn. ok, thank you. chris is this a buduet, autumn. ok, thank you. chris is this a budget. do — autumn. ok, thank you. chris is this a budget. do you — autumn. ok, thank you. chris is this a budget, do you think, _ autumn. ok, thank you. chris is this a budget, do you think, that - a budget, do you think, that suggests an election will come before or after the summer? t suggests an election will come before or after the summer? i don't think my hunch _ before or after the summer? i don't think my hunch from _ before or after the summer? i don't think my hunch from what - before or after the summer? i don't think my hunch from what we - before or after the summer? i don't think my hunch from what we had i think my hunch from what we had today— think my hunch from what we had today amounted to an electrical charge — today amounted to an electrical charge in— today amounted to an electrical charge in the short term towards the polling _ charge in the short term towards the polling stations. instead, what we -ot polling stations. instead, what we got from — polling stations. instead, what we got from jeremy hunt was an attempt to portray— got from jeremy hunt was an attempt to portray himself as a careful, a responsible custodian of the economy, attempting to come up piece by piece. _ economy, attempting to come up piece by piece, put the economy back together— by piece, put the economy back together again put that you will have _ together again put that you will have noticed in the interview i did with him. — have noticed in the interview i did with him, he made an argument that middle _ with him, he made an argument that middle earners feel a little bit better— middle earners feel a little bit better off, if you compare the nationat— better off, if you compare the national insurance cuts with the changes— national insurance cuts with the changes in the tax threshold but the

argument _ changes in the tax threshold but the argument is bigger than that, economically, come the election, it is about— economically, come the election, it is about people —— how people feel about— is about people —— how people feel about their— is about people —— how people feel about their economic prospects given inflation _ about their economic prospects given inflation and mortgages and plenty else besides. labour now feel more confident, _ else besides. labour now feel more confident, economically, with polls suggest _ confident, economically, with polls suggest they are treated more credibly— suggest they are treated more credibly economically and the conservatives have a difficult economic picture to wrestle with. today— economic picture to wrestle with. today has— economic picture to wrestle with. today has been an insight into the crucial— today has been an insight into the crucial battleground, come the election— crucial battleground, come the election campaign, whenever it comes — election campaign, whenever it comes. . election campaign, whenever it comes. , ., ~ , ., comes. indeed, chris, thank you, chris mason _ comes. indeed, chris, thank you, chris mason at _ comes. indeed, chris, thank you, chris mason at westminster - comes. indeed, chris, thank you, chris mason at westminster and l chris mason at westminster and faisal islam reporting for us. time for a look at the weather. and sarah has more by the river tyne.