Laura Kuennsberg
Chief Correspondent, presenter Newsnight

Big move tho - Manchester and Cambridge to get to keep 100% of biz rates - that is a significant step to regional Devo #budget15

Patrick Wintour
Guardian political editor

Manchester to be allowed to keep 100% of growth in business rates. Another Labour policy grabbed by Osborne. @patrickwintour, external

Image source, Getty Images

The chancellor likes to throw in a laboured analogy at Labour's expense to these occasions, and he uses the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt to tick that box today. "The battle of Agincourt is, of course, celebrated by Shakespeare as a victory secured by a 'band of brothers'," he says. Not something the party opposite can hope for. "It is also when a strong leader defeated an ill-judged alliance between the champion of a united Europe and a renegade force of Scottish nationalists." That directly echoes Tory warnings of Labour and the SNP working together after the election, of course.

Derek Bulwadda, in Norwich, emails: "If, as the government says, we have more people in work than EVER, then why do we need another £12 million of cuts in welfare? Can someone please explain?"

Robert Peston
Economics editor

Levy on banks increased to raise additional £900m - and outlaws PPI compensation as offsettable expense #budget2015

The church roof fund unveiled in the autumn statement is being trebled after it was heavily over-subscribed, George Osborne says. "Apparently we're not the only people who want to fix the roof while the sun is shining," he says. Lots of laughter. That's what, in political circles, passes as a hilarious joke.

Jonty Bloom
Business correspondent, BBC News

5.3 billion tax on banks - lot of money coming in from that and pension changes - where will it go? #Budget2015 @JontyBloombiz, external

The chancellor wants banks to "make a bigger contribution to the repair of our public finances". So, with the financial sector now recovering, the rate of the bank levy is being raised to 0.21%, raising an additional £900m a year. Banks will also be stopped from deducting from corporation tax the compensation they make to customers for products they have been mis-sold, like PPI insurance. "The banks got support going into the crisis; now they must support the whole country as we recover from the crisis," Mr Osborne says.

Tory backbench MP John Baron's campaign for compensation for nuclear test veterans and their families is congratulated by the chancellor - he's been successful in winning the Treasury over. "We will provide £25 million to help our eldest veterans, including nuclear test veterans," George Osborne says. He also says the government will help renovate the RAF museum in Hendon and provide charitable funding to every regiment.

Evan Davis
Newsnight presenter

There is no doubt, the pre-election budget, even during austerity, is a huge advantage to an incumbent chancellor #budget2015

Inheritance tax now - but not the angle discussed yesterday. "We will conduct a review on the avoidance of inheritance tax through the use of deeds of variation," George Osborne announces. It will report by the autumn - by which time, he wonders, Labour might have implemented their own "deed of variation".

"I want to ensure those still building up their pension pots are protected from inflation, so from 2018 we will index the Lifetime Allowance."

Sarah Dickins
BBC Wales economics correspondent

Farmers union - NFU - says being able to assess tax across 5 yrs is "fantastic news"

A little cough from George Osborne there - is his voice struggling? Compared with previous Budgets, when he's coughed and spluttered repeatedly, the chancellor's larynx is actually doing rather well today.

More measures to curb the size of very large pension pots. From next year, the Lifetime Allowance will be reduced from £1.25m to £1m. This will save around £600 million a year, the chancellor says. But he says that fewer than 4% of pension savers currently approaching retirement will be affected.

Iain Martin
Political journalist

This forecasting years ahead stuff is such rubbish. As much use as projections of 2010 for now, or Brown in 2007.

Evan Davis
BBC Newsnight presenter

Today is really a contest between those seeing a glass half full and those seeing it half empty. #budget2015 @EvanHD, external

Labour's claims that the government protects the interests of the rich are addressed by the chancellor highlighting that the top 1% of taxpayers will have to pay 27% of total income tax in 2015, up from 25% in 2010. "That is higher than in any one of the 13 years of the last government," the chancellor says.

The section on 'fairness' now - beginning with a claim that it's the rich who are making the biggest contribution to cutting the deficit. "I said we would all be in this together and here is the proof. Compared to five years ago:

• Inequality is lower.

• Child poverty is down.

• Youth unemployment is down.

• Pensioner poverty is at its lowest level ever.

• The gender pay gap has never been smaller.

• Payday loans are capped.

• And zero hours contracts regulated."

We've now heard the trinity: "hard working people", "fixing the roof", and now "we're all in this together".