Budget boost for first-time buyers as growth forecast slashed

A joke about cough sweets didn’t sugar the pill – the economic forecasts in Philip Hammond’s second budget this year were much gloomier than those he announced in the spring. The Chancellor admitted that productivity “continues to disappoint” and that meant a sharp slash in the prediction for future growth. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said those numbers were a record of failure and showed the government was no longer fit for office.