Tomorrow will be the last time the chancellor brandishes the budget red box outside number 11 before the election. Will there be any surprises inside . It is the eve of what is probably the governments last set piece before a general election, and speculation over tax cuts surroundsjeremy hunts budget. I asked rishi sunak ally, the former minister liam fox, whther it was time to unfreeze Tax Thresholds. Well, if i had my choice and if i were the chancellor, tomorrow that is what i would be doing. Well be asking labours Shadow Minister For Industry and decarbonisation whether a Labour Government would change the fiscal rules in order to cut taxes . Also tonight. It looks like its going to be a pretty Super Tuesday for donald trump, so can anyone or anything stop him in his tracks on the way to the republican nomination . Music the latest production at the birmingham rep. After Birmingham Council cuts its Culture Budget to zero, is austerity for the arts coming to a town near you . Well
welcome. let me start with the situation welcome. let me start with the situation as we see it on the outlook situation as we see it on the outlook for the economy. the outlook for growth outlook for the economy. the outlook for growth and unemployment has improved~ for growth and unemployment has improved. six months ago we expected a shallow improved. six months ago we expected a shallow but long recession. since then energy prices have fallen substantially and economic activity is holding substantially and economic activity is holding up better than expected. so today is holding up better than expected. so today we forecast modest but not positive so today we forecast modest but not positive growth and a much smaller increase positive growth and a much smaller increase in positive growth and a much smaller increase in unemployment. we think inflation increase in unemployment. we think inflation will fall quite sharply over inflation will fall quite shar
shares in the swiss banking giant credit suisse fall to a record low as investors remain worried after the collapse of silicon valley bank. a high court in pakistan orders police to halt their operation to arrest former prime minister imran khan until thursday, following clashes between police and his supporters. conflicting accounts from washington and moscow as a us drone crashes into the black sea after an encounter with russian fighter jets. and a small number of wolves settle in belgium for the first time in more than 100 years as numbers rise across europe. hello. we start here in the uk where the chancellorjeremy hunt has been setting out his budget, pledging to build for the future . the uk economy is set to shrink this year, but it is no longer expected to enter a recession. mr hunt also says the inflation forecast is to fall from above 10%, to just under 3% by the end of 2023. but the labour leader, sir keir starmer, accuses the government of dressing up stagnat