Chancellor George Osborne kicked off his fourth Budget this afternoon by saying he wanted to help those "who want to get on".
He called it a Budget "for our aspiration nation". He said the Government was "building a modern, reformed state, bringing business to our shores with competitive taxes and fixing the banks".
Britain should be best place in the world to innovate, he said. There would be further help for research and development and support for the creative industries including tax relief for animation. "Research and development is absolutely central to Britain's economic future," the chancellor said.
Mr Osborne cut corporation tax to by 1% to 20% from April 2015- the lowest business tax of any major economy in the world, he said.
He said there would be no change to the Government's deficit-cutting programme which had helped bring about low interest rates.
The Office for Budget Responsibility says the Government was on course to meet its fiscal mandate ayear early, Mr Osborne said.
But he is making his speech against a backdrop of worsening economic figures which will force him to downgrade his forecasts. Adding to the air of gloom hanging over the economy,official figures this morning showed unemployment rose by 7,000 to 2.52m between November and January – although the number of people in work rose.
It is Mr Osborne's fourth Budget. Labour have called on him to change tack and boost growth
Planning law overhaul had helped boost businesses, he said.
Mr Osborne concluded his speech by saying: "This is a Budget that doesn't duck our nations problems. It confronts them head on. It's a Budget for an aspiration nation."
