Chancellor cuts taxes as he pledges austerity is ending

A giveaway for some and a promise that austerity is finally coming to an end. Philip Hammond produced his final scheduled budget before Brexit with a flourish of income tax cuts for millions of workers and a series of one-off pledges for the “little extras”.   It all means in five years’ time, the government will be spending an extra £30 billion, funded by improved forecasts. Opposition parties said it was an empty budget that certainly didn’t bring austerity to an end. And the Chancellor said he might need another budget in March if there is a no-deal Brexit.