18:11

Until now Theresa May’s government has enjoyed a charmed life in its relations with the Tory press. The Daily Mail adores her, and the Daily Telegraph and the Sun have given her very positive coverage. But, thanks to this budget, relations could be about to sour. Philip Hammond’s decision to increase national insurance contributions will affect prosperous self-employed people who might be thought of as archetypal Mail/Telegraph readers and tomorrow’s papers could make awkward reading in the Treasury. The Resolution Foundation has welcomed the move, which it says is a progressive proposal which will “ensure the tax system catches up with the modern world of work”, but the fact that it breaks a Conservative manifesto commitment will make it particularly hard to defend. How Hammond responds to this row over the next few days will tell us quite a lot about the state of his backbone.

This issue has dominated the headlines this afternoon partly because, in other respects, it was an unexceptional budget, which included relatively minimal spending commitments. At the weekend Hammond was talking about the need to keep enough “gas in the tank” (see 11.36am) to see Britain through any potential Brexit difficulties. He chose not to restate that argument in his statement (possibly because suggesting that the economy might head south is a Brexit thoughtcrime in government circles), but the thinking nevertheless informed his budget. In that respect, it was a bit wait and see.

That’s all from us for today.

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