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While the main event today is, of course, George Osborne's sixth Budget, attention will turn later to the US Federal Reserve to see whether it gives signals about raising interest rates later this year. Jane Foley, senior foreign exchange strategist at Rabobank, says the market is waiting to see if the Fed drops the word "patient" from its statement in regard to when it might move. Rates have been near zero since the financial crash more than six years ago.

tweets:, external In terms of British politics - the Budget is huge. But in terms of macroeconomics, probably a lesser event than today's Fed meeting.

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Lib Dem cabinet buddies Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg arrived in Downing Street a short time ago.

Will George Osborne use the phrase "hard-working families" in today's Budget? It's the most irritating political phrase of them all, according to "automated political jargon removal service" Polifiller.com. The most loathed cliches, its poll respondents have said, also include "let me be clear", "the economic mess", "the Great British people" and "up and down the country". Also in there is "long-term economic plan" - but you'd have to be a bold gambler to bet against that phrase appearing today.

Ross Hawkins
Political correspondent, BBC News

A senior Treasury source says the Independent report, external that the chancellor is to scrap the 20% savings tax for all but the rich is inaccurate.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Paul Johnson's "very unusual" comment - see our tweet a couple of entries ago - was in relation to George Osborne's £23bn surplus target. This was what led the Office of Budget Responsibility to say Mr Osborne would take the size of the state back to levels we haven't seen since before the last war, Mr Johnson told Today. "There's a real question as to whether that is a realistic aim or something the Conservatives are really signed up to. But it would take us to a very unusual situation by 2020 if we were to get there." He had previously said Mr Osborne's plans would result in cuts "on a colossal scale".

The chancellor will announce plans to scrap annual tax returns in today's Budget and replace them with "digital tax accounts", allowing millions of people to manage their affairs in real time online. The accounts will automatically contain all the details held about taxpayers by HM Revenue & Customs, such as PAYE on employment and pension income, saving the chore of entering them. However, those who prefer to keep filling out a paper return will still be able to do so.

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tweets:, external Head of the IFS, Paul Johnson, tells @BBCr4today Tory plans would lead to a "very unusual" level of public spending by 2020

BBC Radio 4 Today

Norman Smith has been in Reading East, the seat held by Conservative Rob Wilson in 2010, speaking to voters. "I know George Osborne is lying," one tells him. "These guys have had an assault on the low to middle-class." And Tim Harding, the business manager of a local estate agency, says: "The UK has got a massive deficit... there does have to be policies that aren't just about cuts, I think there are a range of tax loopholes that just need to be identified and closed." You can listen to the package in full here.

tweets:, external A Budget selfie as us early birds wait outside the Commons chamber. For once insomnia comes in handy ...

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BBC Radio 4 Today

Will there be gimmicks or giveaways in this Budget? "It is quite remarkable how well-behaved chancellors have been [before] all the elections since 1997," Paul Johnson of the IFS says. The last big pre-election giveaway Budget was in 1992, when Norman Lamont offered tax cuts before polling day and dramatically reversed them afterwards.

BBC Radio 4 Today

"At the macro level things are looking a bit better," IFS director Paul Johnson says. But the "downside" is the deficit is still around £90bn - that means "there's a lot of work to do". It's not what he was hoping for five years ago.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is being interviewed on the Today programme. The IFS is highly respected and his views matter. Desktop readers can listen in by clicking on the live coverage tab at the top of this page.

tweets:, external One day a chancellor will say: "Actually...there are some gimmicks in this Budget. Just for a change.

Welsh politicians will be paying particular attention to today's Budget after the government last week proposed a funding "floor", guaranteeing a minimum Welsh government income. But First Minister Carwyn Jones has called it a "vague promise", and today Wales' Finance Minister Jane Hutt has called for an outright commitment to it. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has already ordered a review of how the Welsh government is financed - here's our story.

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Ronan Dunne, chief executive of O2, has been on Today to talk about what big business wants from today's Budget. He says clarity on the investment environment over the next 10 to 20 years is high on the list, along with the right infrastructure - including digital infrastructure, so that business anywhere in Britain have access to high speed internet.

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Scottish deputy first minister John Swinney is on the warpath today, hitting out against the way George Osborne is managing the economy. He says there's been an 11% real-terms cut to Scotland's budget since 2009/10 and dismisses the chancellor's approach as being "fundamentally flawed" and "damaging Scotland's recovery". Mr Swinney also adds his voice to those calling for a change to the North Sea oil tax regime - see our 06:58 post.

tweets:, external Even the door gets attention. There is no publicity like Budget publicity

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Today's YouGov/Sun poll gives Labour a two-point lead. They're on 36% to the Conservatives' 34%, with UKIP on 12%, the Lib Dems on 7% and the Greens on 6%. YouGov sampled 1,830 people on 16-17 March. "George Osborne has the chance this week to assure the Conservatives of five more years in government," president Peter Kellner has written. "If his Budget goes down well with voters, his party could gain enough extra support to govern on its own. Its prospects of an overall majority remain slim, but David Cameron might be able to lead a minority government for a full five-year term against a splintered opposition."

tweets:, external For political reporter #budget day one of busiest in yr - but markets barely react - traders say days of a budget shock long gone