In Full: The budget speech Chancellor Philip Hammond should deliver today - but won't

THIS summarises the speech the Chancellor should '“ but sadly won't '“  make today in presenting the Budget:
Philip Hammond will deliver the budget todayPhilip Hammond will deliver the budget today
Philip Hammond will deliver the budget today

Mr Speaker,

I shall start with a few home truths about Britain’s economy. Superficially, we are in good order. The economy is growing, unemployment is historically low, the number employed is a near record, inflation is under control and incomes are rising. Productivity also seems to be picking up.

This is not the Britain dolefully presented by the Opposition who would borrow as if money were going out of fashion to ease what they curiously describe as austerity.

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We have to ask not merely the Opposition but all those who are pressing claims on the public purse where this money would come from.

Overall, taxation is relatively high and so is borrowing. Indeed, we are spending about £50bn more than we raise in taxes and the national debt is around £1.8 trillion.

We are paying around £40bn interest on our borrowings, nearly as much as we spend on defence. It is a mortgage that will hang over our grandchildren and successive generations unless we do something about it.

That £50bn budget deficit – a third of that left by a Labour Chancellor who, even so, was prudence personified compared with the current Opposition leaders – restricts what I can do for some years to come.

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My objective is progressively to convert that deficit into a surplus. That is the only basis on which we can look with confidence to a future with rising prosperity.

And most people recognise that the best protection for the worst off is a sound and solvent economy.

It is all the more important if we are to make the most of the opportunities that will arise from Brexit.

It follows that I am strictly limited in what I can do for all those who are demanding taxpayers’ money. I must ask them to examine very carefully why they are seeking it.It seems to be the view that governments can cure every ill. Far too much is expected of them. For example, government, leaving aside the management of its own resources, cannot dirctly raise productivity.

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That is – and always has been – the responsibility of management to invest and train for the future.

What governments can – and should – do is to create a framework within which everyone can prosper by their own efforts while at the same time caring for the aged and vulnerable.

My aim is to do just that. This is how I propose to achieve it in the year ahead.

First, since Brexit is a historic step for this country, I want to ensure that we are properly prepared for any eventuality, given the current intransigence of the EU which does not seem to understand their need to secure a mutually beneficial outcome.

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Second, we cannot continue to throw billions at the so-called developing world in aid. I am instituting a review of this spending to put the accent on helping to ease the pain and disruption of national disasters and to minimise the risk of their recurrence. It is vital we see a return on the capital we expend.

In this spirit I expect the managements of the NHS, education, welfare, law and order and defence to come up with measures to secure greater value for money. All the evidence suggests that there are substantial savings to be made.

To help them, it is clear that we need to reduce immigration to ease pressure on housing and the public services. Again, this is an area where we need to identify value for money. This is an opportunity presented by Brexit

Fourth, I am convinced that we can, for the moment, maintain the improvement in house-building on the basis of existing permitted sites. Let’s get on with it. There is no shortage of those who want to buy or rent a home.

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Fifth, it is only fair that whatever money is available should go to help the sick and the struggling aged who have helped to build the Britain we know. I am working with various agencies on how best to help.

Finally, I want to hammer home my message that the economy is basically sound apart from the level of borrowing, which we have reduced by two thirds since 2010. In these circumstances, I am entitled ask not what I can do for you but what you can do for Britain.

I feel much better for that. Now to the detail before the Prime Minister is yet again called upon to sack me...