Few Chancellors can resist the lure of this annual set piece and George Osborne managed to find a couple of rabbits to pull out of his red box in a Budget, which had been billed as a ‘no surprises’ event.
With rising inflation and increasing protests against public spending cuts, George Osborne left No 11 this morning under considerable pressure to introduce measures designed to relieve the pain.
With the spectre of a double-dip recession not yet dispelled, the real message the Chancellor wanted to convey today was that this was a 'Budget for Growth' – an aim firmly set out in his opening words and a recurring theme throughout the speech.
Did he do enough? Read our full summary