tonight at ten... it's billed as the final budget before brexit as the chancellor declares the decade of austerity is coming to an end. philip hammond calls it a budget for britain's future as he announces more money for universal credit, social care, mental health services and defence. i can report to the british people that their hard work is paying off and the era of austerity is finally coming to an end. the reality is that, whatever the chancellor claims today, austerity is not over. and, for 32 million people, there will be less income tax payable, with a rise in personal allowances a year earlier than planned. we'll have details and reaction and we'll be asking if this really does herald the end of austerity. also tonight... united in grief — the family of the leicester city chairman pay their respects, as do the players, following saturday's helicopter crash. all 189 people on board a passenger

plane which crashed in indonesia are believed to have died. angela merkel is to stand down as party leader this year but says she'll stay on as chancellor of germany until 2021. and manchester city return to the top of the premier league with victory over tottenham at wembley. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, real madrid sack their manager, julien lopetegui, afterjust four and half months in charge following their worst start in 18 seasons. good evening. in the final scheduled budget before britain leaves the european union, the chancellor has declared that the austerity of the past

decade is coming to an end. philip hammond insisted the economy had turned a corner and, using independent forecasts, he said it would grow by 1.6% next year — an upgrade from march. he announced extra funding for mental health services, social care and defence, and help for people to switch to the new welfare benefit, universal credit. and he revealed that a rise in tax—free personal allowances would happen in april 2019 — in effect a tax cut — a year earlier than planned. labour dismissed it as a budget of broken promises. we'll have the detail and the reaction. we start tonight with our political editor, laura kuenssberg. for years, tory residents here have opened the number 11 the door to brandish a red box full of plans to shrink some spending. it is a no—deal brexit haunting this budget?

philip hammond wants you to believe there is an end to all that, an end to so—called austerity. there is an end to all that, an end to so-called austerity. is this your budget or the prime minister's? after the prime minister made that promisejust after the prime minister made that promise just weeks after the prime minister made that promisejust weeks ago, after the prime minister made that promise just weeks ago, he could not give parliament and you empty words. the british people put theirfaith in us to do the job the british people put theirfaith in us to do thejob and the british people put theirfaith in us to do the job and today we repay that trust with a budget that paves the way for a brighter future. ican paves the way for a brighter future. i can report to the british people that their hard work is paying off and the era austerity is finally coming to an end. with barely a mention of his biggest assumption of all, how smoothly we can leave the eu. we are at a pivotal moment in oui’ eu. we are at a pivotal moment in our eu negotiations and the stakes could not be higher. we are confident that we will secure a deal, confident but not complacent, mr deputy speaker. and sony has decided to spend not save, top of

the list with cash for health —— and so the list with cash for health —— and so he has decided. we made the big choice for this budget four months before it was deliberate and it was the right decision. our nhs is the number—1 priority of the british people. first announced in the summer, it means as much at an extra £20.5 billion for health in england every year by 2023 which will include £2 billion for mental health and there will an extra £650 million for councils to help pay for social ca re next for councils to help pay for social care next year. after a chorus from those behind him, the chancellor is not pitching the controversial universal credit welfare changes but... the switch to universal credit is a long overdue and necessary reform . credit is a long overdue and necessary reform. this is notjust a welfare measure, it is a major structural reform our economy that will help to drive growth and employment in the years ahead. but i

recognise the genuine concerns among many honourable and right honourable friends. so, an extra £1.7 billion will go to make universal credit more generous with £1 billion to soften the change for people switching on to the new system. there is an extra £1 billion for defence spending as well. £400 million for schools in england, less than the £420 million the government found for potholes. in the wider world, ministers want you to think the government is ready to change tack, to start spending again after yea rs of tack, to start spending again after years of scrimping, to take on tech companies with a possible digital tax and to let millions of earners keep more of their own money sooner by raising income tax thresholds. so i will raise both the personal allowa nce i will raise both the personal allowance and the higher rate threshold from april 2019. delivering our manifesto commitments

one year early. a tax cut for 32 million people. £130 in the pocket ofa million people. £130 in the pocket of a typical basic rate taxpayer. remember, that gives more, a lot more, to higher earners rather than the lower paid but this was a chancellor who wants you to think he and we can have it all. we are at a turning point in our history and we must resolve to go forwards, not backwards, and work together to build a britain that we can all be proud of. i commend this statement to the house. just as there was a squeeze on the front bench, for labour it is lovable to claim constraints on the spending are gone. this, mr deputy speaker, is a broken promise budget. what we have heard to date are half measures and

quick fixes while austerity grinds on. and far from peoples hard work and sacrifice as having paid off, as the chancellor claims, this government has frittered it awaits in ideological tax cuts to the richest our society. there were goodies for northern ireland. remember the chancellor and prime minister depend on support from the unionist dup. the money for mental health provision, for our veterans, extra money for universal credit, those are very positive. all of the big decisions about how we pay for an improved public services and the so—called end of austerity has been put off until next year. he has not ended austerity, yet continued it and we have a situation where the universal credit cut there have are continuing to be passed onto people. this is a slow return to spending, not a splurge, a shift and not a

sharp turn. a budget that promises an economy, a country, that will soon an economy, a country, that will soon feel different but cannot keep that promise on its own. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. we will talk to laura again in a few moments. so, the broad context of the budget, according to the chancellor, was an ending of austerity policies but does the detail of the budget bear that out? and where does mr hammond find money for some of the extra spending he announced today? 0ur economics editor, kamal ahmed, is with me. thank you. today philip hammond tried to change the economic story of this government. away from cuts and controlling the nation's debts and towards spending and tax cuts — the ending of austerity. next year mr hammond said the government would spend £2.3 £2.3 billion on public services. and that figure would rise to £30.6 billion by 2024 — the biggest change in public spending for at least a decade. the prime minister said the

chancellor are very difficult challenge with the declaration was the end of austerity and you think he had over delivered on expectations. the reason he could do that was because he got a very big improvement in the public finance forecast from the independent forecasters with the results i think the budget is probably the biggest giveaway budget for a generation. who are the winners? spending on the nhs rises to £27.6 billion by 2024. there will be more support for people earning while claiming the new universal credit benefit — that will cost £1.7 billion. and there will be an increase in the amount of money we can earn before we are taxed. that will cost £9.6 billion overfive years. there's also more money for social care, roads and education. does that mean austerity is over? 0ne one must welcome any increased to an education budget but it's not go far

enough. 400 million is basically 10,000 extra for each primary school, 50,000 for each secondary school and he was honest, saying this was for the little extras that the schools might need. if that pencils and chalkboards or to produce the 215t—century education which children deserve? how will mr hammond afford it? first of all, borrowing is lower than expected by about £11.9 billion this year, giving mr hammond some spending room. second, economic growth is stronger than expected for the next two years — rising next year from 1.3% to 1.6%. that's better for the amount of tax the government collects. interestingly, the chancellor has said he's not going to save that money, he's going to spend it. he is going to have a bit of trouble if the forecasts look worse next time and don't forget, what the 0br, what the forecasts give, they can very easily take awaits. he has not

left himself with a lot of scope to respond if things go worse down the road. there will be some tax rises. self—employment rules will be tightened, raising over £3.1 billion over five years. and the possibility of a new tax on technology giants like facebook, which could raise £1.5 billion. this was a budget promising a lot of spending in the future, but austerity is not over today. benefit cuts and cuts to government departments are still to come. and if there is no deal on brexit or the economy takes a turn for the worse, mr hammond's big spending plans will be put under severe pressure. many thanks again. kamal ahmed with his analysis. as we said, the budget is meant to be the last one before britain leaves the eu and it included a series of other measures. the national living wage is to rise from £7.83 to £8.21.

duty on beer, cider and spirits has been frozen. and, as previously announced, there'll be no rise in fuel duty. there'll be help for the high street with a cut in business rates. and the amount smaller firms pay towards apprenticeship training is to be reduced. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been to a car mechanics' workshop in chorley, lancashire to find out what today's budget means for workers and businesses. today, i present to the house a budget for britain's future. as the chancellor got started, work was well under way here in lancashire. fred is in charge of the nine staff here but he is not worried that the extra 400 million from philip hammond, spending on fixing the potholes, would put him out of business. no, i don't think so. i think we'll still be here. we're very busy at the moment so i don't think there is a problem with that but it is about time the potholes were fixed really, isn't it?

some pretty big potholes around. there are some big ones. you could fall in them and never get out of them, couldn't you? the chancellor confirmed he was relaxing rules to allow councils to build more houses. fred's son, sean, says a new housing development outside town has really helped the business. our customer base is so much bigger. it grows every year. new people turn up all the time. we will retain our existing customers. it is only going to increase, i think. in the back office is twin sisterjessica. for her, the announcement to help small firms afford apprenticeships will not solve their bigger problem. there are not enough people at the minute who are willing to train to do the job. finding good staff is quite difficult at the minute. the freeze in beer and fuel duty got the biggest cheer. there is going to be a lot of happy people. that is excellent, isn't it? with pay here a little below the national average, local financial adviser sylvia says there is more good news for cash in people's pockets.

some people are on more than minimum wage already, or living wage, as they call it, but they will benefit from the tax threshold going up and that will be the main difference for them. and the era of austerity is finally coming to an end. do you believe him? no, not at all. national minimum wage — it isn't enough to cover odds and ends. bills are going up. after years of budget squeezes, it is going to be a little while before people feel the pressure ease. coletta smith, bbc news in chorley. we can discuss some of these themes. in a moment, we'll speak to laura kuenssberg, our political editor, in westminster. but first to our business editor, simonjack, who is here with me. how has this gone down in the business world? pockets of pleasure, some help for the high street which has had a horrible year. £900

million cut to 500,000 businesses will see their business rates cut by a third but very few of the big busts like toys "r" us, maplin, the store closes at governance and house of fraser will be caught by that because they are under pressure from some of the online retailers. we talked about this new tech tax and a lot of people are saying that is bold committee going off on his own by doing it but it does not come in until 2020 and there will be international agreement on a more co—ordinated approach to that. although he looks like a trailblazer, he would rather have safety in international numbers on it if he is honest. 0n the whole, businesses are thinking, we have spent a lot of money today, £100 billion overfive years, spent a lot of money today, £100 billion over five years, unpopular things like the nhs, tax breaks, another 4.5 on freezing fuel duty so people will like that but businesses are asking if they have bought themselves a more productive future proof economy. for this the chancellor is think it is up to them. the amount of money you can invest in your own business pack three has gone from 200,000 up to £1

billion of get on and do it so will that offset the brexit uncertainty? that is the big question and even the chancellor said they might have do revisit the figures if they get a no deal and it does not go the way they think. at half past three this afternoon, what kind of brexit we get was the biggest issue facing the economy and businesses and tonight it is still the same. let's go straight to westminster and talk to laura. this is meant to be the last budget before brexit actually happens. how much of a change do you think this budget represents? the government wants us all to believe it is a big change in direction and the budget is a big moment. it is a change in priority. after yea rs moment. it is a change in priority. after years ago it used to conservative chancellors standing up and talking about how they were going to scrimp and save, shrink government department budgets in many cases. here there was philip

hammond standing up and talking about how he would turn the spending ta ps about how he would turn the spending taps on again and how actually there would be an end to the constraints people have seen for years and years and years. certainly, in terms of a change in priority, that is significant. to put spending ever getting rid of the deficit or debt would be considered heresy until relatively recently. that said we have to put this into perspective. it is clear that the vast amount of the extra cash that will be spent in yea rs the extra cash that will be spent in years to come or go to the health service. it will gobble up most of it almost immediately. some government departments may still have to grapple with further cuts to their budgets. there is nothing easy about the way ahead and the stage is set for a brutal spending review next year. that is when the actual total amount of cash for government departments will be set out to cover

the next period of several years. there are no quick fixes to what philip hammond said today. in a sense he is trying to have it all, trying to suggest he can cut tax and spend more. suddenly everyone will be happy. there is no way that one budget can pick a policy that has lasted for eight years now. as simon was suggesting just there, these numbers than this programme only stacks up if the brexit process goes smoothly and that is something even the chancellor and the prime minister certainly cannot control on their own. and keep very much. -- thank you very much. and just a reminder that you can find out more detail for today's budget by visiting our website — bbc.co.uk/budget. leicester city's players have been to see the many floral tributes outside the ground, following the death

of the club's thai owner, vichai srivaddhanaprabha, and four others in a helicopter crash on saturday. air accident investigators are examining the flight recorder of the helicopter, which crashed next to the stadium. today prince william, who's president of the fa, praised the businessman for his contribution to the game, as our sports editor, dan roan, reports. the people of leicester had paid their respects to their clubs owner. today it was the turn of those closest to him. a poignant moment when vichai srivaddhanaprabha's wife and son walked among the sea of tributes to lay their own wreath. shortly afterwards — and with the crowds growing — came the players, led by goalkeeper kasper schmeichel and followed by strikerjamie vardy, a very public display of reflection. he was not your archetypal owner. this guy seemingly was one of those people who gave so much to the football club. he also gave so much to the city. invested huge amounts of money into hospitals. he treated fans like he cared. srivaddhanaprabha's helicopter

left the stadium an hour after leicester's game against west ham. but, seconds later, it crashed into a car park at the south of the ground, bursting into flames. the air accident investigations branch has recovered the digital flight data recorder from the aircraft and said it would begin analysis immediately. the tragedy was witnessed by one of the club's former greats. all of a sudden it seemed to drop a little bit and then obviously crash. it all happened so quickly. then there was sort of sparks coming out of the back and then some small flames and then larger flames and then it suddenlyjust blew up. it's just something i think will live with us for ever really. it was one of the most horrendous things i think anybody could ever see. srivaddhanaprabha was one of five people killed when the helicopter crashed. also on board, two staff members — nursara suknamai and kaveporn punpare. the pilot, eric swaffer, considered to be a veteran airman, and his partner, also seen here,

izabela lechowicz, herself an experienced pilot. there is nobody i know that's better skilled at what he does than eric. eric flew that helicopter like it was a limb. he really knew helicopters and aeroplanes and his knowledge did not go just in flying, his knowledge was very technical as well. he was very technical. he knew the systems of all the aircraft he was operating in as well. two seasons ago, the stadium witnessed one of sport's greatest fairy tales when leicester city won the premier league. this afternoon, the current squad spent solemn time with the late chairman's family — a club united in grief. dan roan, bbc news, leicester. chancellor angela merkel of germany has announced that she won't seek another term in office, signalling the end of her long career, which has dominated german and european politics. mrs merkel is currently head of a fragile coalition government, which has been rocked by a series of recent crises. her decision sets in

motion a leadership contest in her cdu party. 0ur berlin correspondent, jenny hill, joins us. how unexpected was this? com pletely completely unexpected and of course highly significant. this is angela merkel, to the west a symbol of stability and continuity acknowledging finally that her era is drawing to a close. angela merkel leads this country, she also leads her cdu party that she has been losing her grip on power. her party is suffering in the polls, her coalition government is often on the verge of falling apart. to silence her critics, angela merkel has said she is ready to give up her cdu leadership. much now depends on who

replaces her as party leader pulled if it is an ally she may well turn things around and see out her term as chancellor until 2021. if it is arrival and the bolts is really are circling she may find things rather more tricky. —— the bolt choose. as well as party leader they will also potentially be chancellor in waiting. for a long time, predicting the hour of angela merkel‘s political demise has almost become a national sport here. today, finally, angela merkel herself fired the starting gun on the race to replace her. many thanks. six men have been convicted of rape and sexually exploiting vulnerable teenage girls in rotherham. sheffield crown court was told the men subjected five girls to "acts of a degrading and violent nature" after they'd been given alcohol and drugs. a seventh man, who can't be named for legal reasons, was also convicted. they'll be sentenced next month. work has again been suspended at the uk's only active fracking site after a 1.1 magnitude earthquake this morning. it's the latest in a series of small

tremors at the site near blackpool. the energy firm, cuadrilla, insists the fracking process is safe. the us military is to send more than 5,000 troops to the country's border with mexico. president trump has pledged to secure the border after describing several thousand central american migrants heading north through mexico as a dangerous threat to us sovereignty. the man accused of shooting dead 11 people at a synagogue in pittsburgh has appeared in a us federal court to hear the 29 charges against him. robert bowers — who was shot before surrendering to police — was brought into court handcuffed and in a wheelchair after being discharged from hospital. rescue teams in indonesia have begun recovering bodies from the crash site, where a new passenger plane plunged into the sea less than 15 minutes after take—off. 189 people were on board and the authorities say it's unlikely there are any survivors.

the lion air boeing 737 was travelling from the capital, jakarta, to bangka island. the airline says the plane, which came into service in august, did have a technical problem on an earlier flight but it had been cleared to fly again. 0ur correspondent, rebecca henschke, reports from jakarta. there were over 180 people on board when the plane crashed into the sea just 13 minutes after take—off. theirfamilies now desperately waiting. "are there any survivors?" this woman asks. "we can't tell you that," replies the airline official. out at sea, a debris field marks the site of the crash. and, along with the wreckage of the plane, search and rescue teams are recovering bodies. they are being taken

to a police hospital. the families have been asked to try and identify them. the plane crashed in daylight and in good weather. real—time tracking showed that it was struggling to retain height. and that the crew had asked to return to the airport. the director of the budget airline admitting that there had been a problem on the previous flight. the airline, one of indonesia's youngest and biggest, has a chequered safety record. a ten—year ban on its planes entering the european union due to safety concerns was only lifted in 2016. search and rescue teams say they will work through the night to recover the debris as well as search for survivors. but hopes of finding anyone still alive are fading. rebecca henschke, bbc news, jakarta.

president trump has warmly congratulated brazil's new president after a sweeping victory over the left—wing workers' party. jair bolsonaro's supporters — many from the hard—right — have taken to the streets in celebration after his hugely popular promises to crack down on violent crime and corruption. but he's accused of admiring brazil's former military regime, saying he favoured dictatorship to democracy and has been criticised for inflammatory comments about race, women and homosexuals. mr bolsonaro won 55% of the vote, compared to 45% for his left—wing rival. among his ideas, he wants free—market reforms of the economy, looser gun laws for what he calls ‘honest citizens' and to open up the amazon rainforest for development. 0ur correspondent, katy watson, reports from brazil on the man known as the ‘trump of the tropics'. the party began even before the results were out.

so sure they were of victory. bolsonaro! and a moment of triumph, yet more celebration in campaign h0. bolsonaro's middle name is messiah, fitting for a man who painted himself as the only person who could save brazil. he is nicknamed the trump of the tropics. the us president is a man bolsonaro admires and one of the first people he spoke to after his win. bolsonaro draws both admiration and anger. this was a tense campaign that got worse when he was stabbed in a rally last month. jair bolsonaro promised he would clean up politics and get tough on crime. this pose became a symbol of his campaign for his gun toting supporters. a former army man, many of his fans are linked to the military and he has made no secret of his admiration for the country's

former dictatorship. his friends say they would back it again. if it is necessary, we're going to get in arms to defend our country. we don't want the communism here. never. the hatred towards the left—wing workers' party and its poster boy, lula da silva, who is in prison for corruption, propelled him to the very top. but the opposition says it will keep fighting for democracy. translation: i was tortured for 20 days. they electrocuted me on my tongue and my penis. bolsonaro has said he is in favour of torture. i never imagined that, at the age of 75, i would have to return to this. mr bolsonaro campaigns to make brazil break again, to kick—start its struggling economy, and he sees the amazon

as brazil's cash cow. but environmental groups worry he will destroy the rainforest in the process and disregard the rights of indigenous brazilians too. when he takes office injanuary, jair bolsonaro will have a long list ofjobs to get on with but his biggest challenge by far will be bringing his bruised, divided country back together again. katie watson, bbc news, in rio de janeiro. some football news, and manchester city have returned to the top of the premier league this evening with a 1—0 victory over tottenham at wembley. patrick gearey watched the action. wembley was always going to pause and reflect tonight, but events in leicester made the minute of remembrance still more poignant. football at its best can be escapism, especially when manchester city are in full flow and especially for riyad mahrez — the goal—scorer until earlier this year had