Norman Smithpublished at 09:37 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
tweets:, external Tories going from Wigan Pier to Blackpool pier ( Big Dipper spending cuts ) says @edballsmp #endofthepier
Summary
George Osborne has drawn battle lines for the general election after unveiling his Budget for a "comeback country"
Ed Balls says there was nothing in a "pretty empty" Budget which Labour would reverse if it won the election
UKIP MEP and general election candidate Janice Atkinson has been suspended over what the party calls "allegations of a serious financial nature"
Danny Alexander says the Lib Dems would borrow less than Labour and cut less than the Conservatives
Mr Alexander unveils a "better" Lib Dem alternative to the Budget
There are 49 days until the general election
Norman Smithpublished at 09:37 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Kitchen-gate returnspublished at 09:34 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Missed the row over Ed's two kitchens? Well, the Daily Mail helpfully reignites it once again with this useful examination of the prime minister's kitchen and larder., external
Among the well placed items is a jar of marmite - well you either love it or hate it, perhaps a little like Mr Cameron - a £21 jar of "healing" honey and "a £30 bottle of cooking plonk". Cripes!
George Osborne, chancellorpublished at 09:29 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
tweets, external: With great local MP @JackieDP at new @TravisperkinsUK site in Tilbury meeting the people building Britain's recovery.
Image source, TwitterUrgent questionpublished at 09:22 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham has been granted an Urgent Commons question at 10.30 on Barts Hospital being placed in special measures. Health Minister Jane Ellison will answer.
'Unfair and punitive'published at 09:19 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
On the individual measures in the Budget, the parties agree, Nick Clegg says. Many are Lib Dem policies, he tells LBC. But the Lib Dem leader doesn't think the job should be finished as "unfairly and punitively" as the Tories want.
Postpublished at 09:15 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Image source, ReutersWe published a coalition budget yesterday, today we will see from the Lib Dems answers to the bigger question of how to balance the books, Nick Clegg tells LBC. There are very big differences between the parties, the Lib Dem leader says. The Conservatives want to cut more than they do, whilst Labour want to borrow more. Today, the Lib Dems will be saying there is a "better, more sensible way of doing it", he adds.
Green lawspublished at 09:11 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
The Lib Dems will commit to five new greens laws covering environmental standards for new homes through to air pollution, Nick Clegg tells his LBC phone-in.
Balls won't reverse measurespublished at 09:09 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Image source, BBC SportOur top budget story at the moment is shadow chancellor Ed Balls saying he would not reverse any of the measures announced yesterday. He told Today the Budget was "pretty empty".
Schools reportpublished at 09:00 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Today is the annual BBC Schools report. More than 1,000 schools and 30,000 pupils from around the UK are taking part. Pupils will be on air and online on the BBC throughout the day. For the Today programme, pupils aged 16 and 17 from Merms Castle High School near Glasgow spoke of their experience of voting in the Scottish referendum, and their frustrations at being too young to vote in the upcoming general election. You can listen to their package here.
Sun front pagepublished at 08:54 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
This may well be pushing the barrier of good taste but predictably it hasn't taken long for twitter to take the Sun's front page and run with it. Below is one of the cleaner examples.
Image source, Twitter Carbon emissionspublished at 08:51 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
Image source, PAAway from the Budget, researchers have challenged the UK government's claim to lead the world in cuts of carbon emissions. The experts from Leeds University say that emissions in the UK are actually rising overall because current calculations omit pollution from goods imported from countries like China. The government, however, says it follows internationally agreed rules on CO2 accounting. More here.
Savers' Budgetpublished at 08:43 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC BreakfastMr Balls adds: "I support what the chancellor is doing for savers but most people can't afford to save at the moment."
He adds Labour would have a more "sensible balanced plan". They would save £500m from local government and scrap local police commissioners, he says.
Labour would also put the top rate of tax back up to 50p, introduce a mansion tax, and raise the minimum wage, he adds.
Tory budget?published at 08:41 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Radio 4 TodayWhat would you have done in the budget if you hadn't had to compromise with the Lib Dems, George Osborne is asked. He says he would like to go further on personal allowance and to raise the higher rate tax threshold, but generally the package is a "broadly Conservative" one .
Postpublished at 08:39 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Breakfast
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls tells Breakfast: "I want the economy to be stronger. I want a better more positive future." He says the chancellor is "out of touch" and most MPs in the House of Commons know that. He says the OBR itself has said the chancellor's plans mean deeper spending cuts over the next three years than the last five, adding that's "a really frightening prospect".
Tax evasion and avoidancepublished at 08:39 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Radio 4 TodayOn tax evasion and avoidance, George Osborne won't discuss whether former trade minister Lord Green would face criminal charges under the new measures the chancellor is proposing. He says the new powers are a measure of what his government is prepared to do to make sure we have a fair country - the rich can't avoid that, he says.
Defence spendingpublished at 08:32 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Radio 4 Today
Image source, EPAGeorge Osborne says his cuts would continue at the same pace over the next two years - they wouldn't be deeper. He praises the military and insists the UK is playing its global role. He won't promise 2% of GDP will be spent on defence over the next Parliament, but does promise to keep the country safe.
Living standardspublished at 08:28 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Breakfast"I want a better future which works for all small businesses and working people up and down our country, " Mr Balls tells Breakfast. "But for many people things are very tough." He says Labour would get rid of zero hour contracts and the bedroom tax among other things.
He says Labour wouldn't change the proposal to help first time buyers announced in the Budget on Wednesday. "We will keep the help for people saving for a deposit but there are lot of people who can't even become first time buyers [because house prices are so high]," he adds.
Welfare budgetpublished at 08:26 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Radio 4 TodayWho is going to pay for welfare cuts? George Osborne says the system has to have a control on costs, we have met that challenge so far, he adds. He says further cuts will not be easy, but they will be necessary.
But where will £12bn in cuts to welfare come from, he is pressed. He says he will freeze working age welfare benefits, part of an approach to get people back to work. The chancellor says he has saved £21bn so far in this Parliament, people can judge him by his track record.
Deficit reductionpublished at 08:20 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Radio 4 TodayYou are only half way there on deficit reduction, Mr Osborne is told by James Naughtie. Are you a "moral failure", in the prime minister's words? George Osborne says he has met his central target of getting debt falling as a share of national income by the end of the Parliament. I could have blown that money on a pre-election giveaway, but instead I used the money to pay down debts, the chancellor adds.
Chancellor on Todaypublished at 08:19 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2015
BBC Radio 4 Today
Image source, AFPGeorge Osborne is on Today now to talk about his Budget. On claims we could face a public spending roller coaster over the next Parliament, he says his party will offer a balanced approach. Not all cuts will come from government departments, they will also come from the welfare budget. He says he will tackle tax avoidance and evasion too.