- .Chancellor announces 1p cut in duty on each pint of beer and a freeze on cider and spirits in crowd-pleasing move
- .Bingo tax halved to 10% with promise of bigger prizes for players
- .Help for savers in the penultimate Budget before the election next year
- .Cash and stocks ISAs to be merged into single ISA with annual tax-free savings limit of £15,000
- .Osborne promised families extra help after coming through the recession
- .Working parents offered £2,000 tax break on cost of childcare
- .Vowed to cut taxes and boost manufacturing during 55-minute statement
- .Threshold for paying both basic and higher tax rates is hiked
- .£1 coin scrapped: New version will be shaped like old threepenny bit
- .New promises will be funded by crackdown on tax evasion raising billions
- .Growth forecasts upgraded as economic recovery gains momentum
- .But more cuts are on the way with the welfare bill capped at £119bn
George Osborne today delivered a 'working people's Budget' with cuts in the price of beer and a lower tax on bingo halls.
The Chancellor also vowed to help the middle classes by handing nearly every voter a £100 tax cut and taking thousands of people out of the 40p tax bracket.
He told MPs that Britain still does not save enough, as he set out details of a 'Budget for a resilient economy' with measure to boost saving by liberalising the Isa regime and abolishing the tax on nest eggs.
However, Mr Osborne warned the job of repairing the economy after the financial crash five years ago was far from complete, insisting that he would cap welfare spending for years to come.
Speech: George Osborne delivering the 2014 Budget in the House of Commons today
Front bench: The Chancellor was surrounded by the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet
Opposition: Ed Balls, Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman listening as Mr Osborne delivered the Budget
To cheers in the Commons, Mr Osborne said: 'I can report that today that the economy is continuing to recover, and recovering faster than forecast.
'We set out out plan and together with the British people we have held our nerve.'
But he warned 'the job is far from done'.
'Our country still borrows too much, we still don't invest enough, export enough or save enough. This is a budget for building a resilient economy. If you are a maker, a doer or a saver, this budget is for you.'
He continued: 'The economy is continuing to recover and recovering faster than forecast... we held our nerve, we're putting Britain right. But the job is far from done.'
BUDGET 2014: WHAT GEORGE OSBORNE HAS ANNOUNCED
Chancellor George Osborne used today's Budget to announce:
- Simplified ISAs allowing savers to pay in £15,000 per year in cash or shares
- Bonds for pensioners paying 4% a year for four years, and they will not have to buy an annuity with their pensions
- 10p tax rate on savings up to £5,000 is scrapped
- Cut in beer duty, freeze on cider and spirits, and abolition of wine duty escalator
- Bingo tax slashed from 20% to 10%
- Tobacco duty to rise by 2% above inflation for the next six years
- Freeze in fuel duty for a fourth consecutive year
- Income tax threshold to rise to £10,500, saving workers £100 in 2015
- Threshold for 40p rate of tax rises to £41,865
- Welfare spending capped at £119billion
- Help to Buy scheme extended to 2020 to help build extra 120,000 homes
- New garden city at Ebbsfleet in Kent
- Help for energy intensive industries with the cost of pollution
- Tax breaks to encourage business investment
- £20million to protect Britain's cathedrals and war memorials
- £140million for flood-hit areas
- £100million Libor-fixing fines on banks to go to charities like Scouts and Guides
- Police, firefighters and ambulance crews killed on duty exempt from inheritance tax
- Measures to be funded by a crackdown on tax avoidance forecast to raise billions
- Stronger growth forecasts for 2014, up from 2.4 per cent predicted in December to around 2.7 per cent
- More cuts ahead to balance the books by 2019
He said that the deficit will be down 'by a half' in the coming year, but added that it remains 'one of the highest in the world'.
Mr Osborne said he was still on course to balance the books within four years, running a surplus of around £5billion or 0.8 per cent by 2018-19 'but only if we work through the plan'.
He insisted his Budget is ‘fiscally neutral’, with the giveaways paid for by a new crackdown on tax avoidance and changes to public sector pensions.
'Public tolerance for those who don't pay their fair share evaporated long ago but they had to wait for this government to do something about it,' Mr Osborne said during his statement, which began at 12.33pm and ended at 1.28pm.
There will be tougher checks on migrants claiming benefits they are not entitled to.
And a tax on £2million mansions hidden in companies will be expanded, so that anyone buying a home worth more than £500,000 through a firm will pay stamp duty of 15 per cent.
Mr Osborne’s wife Frances, mother Felicity, daughter Liberty and father-in-law Lord Howell were all in the public gallery looking down on the Commons chamber to listen to his statement.
During his speech, the Chancellor promised to share the some of the spoils of the return to economic growth, cutting income tax by £100 for millions of workers, offering a £2,000 tax break on childcare and promising not to hammer drivers or drinkers.
Mr Osborne unveiled a major package of measures for savers, who have seen billions wiped off the value of their nest eggs by five years of record low interest rates.
ISAs are to be simplified, allowing people to save up to £15,000 in cash or shares each year, costing the Treasury around £500million.
New bonds aimed at pensioners will also be offered with market-beating interest rates.
Over-65s are promised they could be offered a four-year bond paying interest of around 4 per cent.
The 10p tax rate on savings will also be abolished, along with the need to buy an annuity from pension pots. Mr Osborne said: 'You have earned it, you have saved it and this government is on your side.'
The income tax threshold will increase by an extra £500 next year, giving cutting income tax bills by £100 for millions of workers.
He also announced that the threshold for paying the 40p rate of tax would rise to £41,865, following criticism from Tory backbenchers that the Chancellor had ignored the 'squeezed middle'.
In one of his most populist moves designed to woo working class voters, the tax on bingo has been slashed from 20 per cent to only 10 per cent, less than other forms of gambling.
It is claimed the move will boost jobs in bingo halls and secure bigger prizes.
By contrast, the tax on fixed-odds betting terminals was hiked to 25 per cent in a bid to crack down on the machines which are blamed for increasing the number of problem gamblers.
Budget: George Osborne outside 11 Downing Street today ahead of delivering the Budget in the Commons
To cheers in the Commons, Mr Osborne offered some cheer to drinkers.
The 'hated' wine duty escalator, which sees tax rise by 2p above inflation, is scrapped.
Duty on cider is frozen, in a boost to the flood-hit West Country, with tax on spirits also frozen in a nod to the Scottish whisky industry ahead of the independence referendum in September.
And for the second year running he cut 1p from the price of a pint of beer.
'Pubs saved, jobs created, a penny off a pint for the second year running,' the Chancellor said.
He also announced yet another freeze in fuel duty, for the fourth year in succession - but resisted calls to cut the price of petrol.
Mr Osborne said that tobacco duty would raise by two per cent above inflation for the lifetime of this Parliament and the next.
The Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed that the economy grew by 'three times as much' as the forecast 0.6 per cent in 2013.
The OBR predicts 2014 GDP growth of 2.7 per cent, then 2.3 per cent in 2015, 2.6 per cent in 2016 and 2017, and 2.5 per cent in 2018.
Upward revision of GDP figures means the UK economy will be £16billion larger than the OBR forecast just four months ago, he said.
It marks a reversal after years of Mr Osborne having to use his Budget statements to set out increasingly gloomy forecasts.
But Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned last night that record low interest rates risk another crash, if homeowners are tempted to run up dangerous levels of debt.
Mr Osborne argued that the government’s long term economic plan is working, but cautioned that the age of austerity is not over and billions more in spending cuts will be needed to balance the books by 2019.
After initially forecasting strong growth for the full five years of the coalition, the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded its predictions for 2011 and 2012 but is now showing stronger growth fro 2014 onwards
Mr Osborne insisted that tough decisions on spending meant money was available for the NHS, schools and giving 0.7 per cent of GDP to international aid, saying: 'I am proud that we are doing that.'
He said changes to public sector pay and pensions, spending cuts in Whitehall and capping welfare were still needed in the years ahead.
'None of these decisions are easy but they are the right thing to ensure Britain lives within its means,' he added.
The Chancellor announced that the families of emergency services personnel who 'give their lives protecting us' would be exempt from inheritance tax, while he also waived VAT on fuel for air ambulances and inshore rescue boats.
For business, the amount of money companies can invest tax free is to be doubled from £250,000 to £500,000.
There will be a new £85million drive to encourage employers to take on more apprenticeships.
Energy intensive industries are to be offered help with rising energy costs, while the carbon floor price - a tax on fossil fuels - will be frozen.
A £500million City Deal for Cambridge gets the go ahead along with a new garden city at Ebbsfleet in Kent.
State-backed mortgages under the Help to Buy scheme will be extended to 2020 to deliver an extra 120,000 new homes.
With flood waters receding after the winter’s devastating storms, Mr Osborne promised more cash for flood defences, including £100million in the first year and £70million the following year.
Mr Osborne tweeted that he has a plan for a 'resilient economy', and a picture of a new 12-sided pound coin which was last night approved by the Queen
Statement: The Chancellor leaving Number 11 on his way to Parliament for this year's Budget
Team: Mr Osborne with the other ministers from the Treasury posing in Downing Street
Tradition: The Chancellor was carrying the ministerial red box containing a copy of the Budget statement
In a swipe at Ed Miliband, he said money would be provided to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
Speaking of King John, he described a ‘weak leader’ who had risen to the top after defeating his brother.
He said: ‘We want current generations to learn from the lessons of the past.’
Amid a host of minor announcements, Mr Osborne promised to fund a charity, Survivors for Peace, which was set up by the family of IRA bombing victim Tim Parry, as well as supporting scholarships for inhabitants of Lockerbie to study in the U.S.
He also revealed that local theatre productions as well as touring shows would be eligible for tax relief.
Other good causes - including the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and military cadet forces - will be funded by fines imposed on banks for the rigging of Libor.
And The Robin Reliant - made famous by Only Fools and Horses' Del Boy - is to become a 'classic car' exempt from road tax, as is the Austin Allegro.
Replying to the Budget, Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed that most people had seen their standard of living slide since the last election.
'The Chancellor spoke for nearly an hour but he did not mention one central fact: the working people of Britain are worse off under the Tories,' he said. 'Living standards down, month after month, year after year.
'And we already know the answer to the question millions of people will be asking in 2015 - are they better off now than they were five years ago?
'The answer is no. Worse off, much worse off, worse off under the Tories.'
In a surprise move before the Budget, details of a new pound coin were unveiled in an attempt to combat fraud.
One in 30 of the current round coins are fakes, so Mr Osborne will introduce a 12-sided version modelled on the old threepenny bit.
Ahead of his statement in the Commons, Mr Osborne tweeted: ‘Today I will deliver a Budget for a resilient economy - starting with a resilient pound coin.’
On housing, the Help to Buy scheme which offers state-backed loans for buying new build homes has been extended to 2020, to deliver an extra 120,000 houses.
A new garden city is to be built at Ebbsfleet in Kent while a £150million rail link to Barking Riverside will help unlock 11,000 new homes in London.
Parents who both work are to be given childcare tax breaks worth up to £2,000 a year for every child under 12.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: ‘Because we have kept spending under control, because we have made long term difficult decisions, we can afford to make these choices for hardworking families.’
David Cameron was all smiles as he left Downing Street this morning
Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, pioctured arriving in Downing Street this morning, have tried to take credit for a £500 rise in the income tax threshold
The budget includes details of a cap on welfare spending, overseen by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith
Foreign Secretary William Hague and Home Secretary Theresa May arrived in Downing Street for a special Cabinet meeting, where Mr Osborne briefed ministers on the contents of his Budget
Ahead of today’s statement, Labour accused the coalition of imposing 24 tax rises in the last four years, including an extra 1.3million people being dragged into the 40p tax band.
The party unveiled a poster focussing on families struggling with their budgets.
Speaking outside his north London home, Ed Miliband said: ‘Today's going to see a contrast between a Conservative budget that claims our economy is fixed and family budgets that are £1,600 a year worse off since the general election.
‘That's why the top priority for the be the so-called cost of living crisis that so many millions of families are facing.
‘I hope we don't see complacency from the Chancellor today, because I think so many families across the country are incredibly hard-pressed; they're seeing their wages falling, they faced 24 Tory tax rises since 2010.
‘What I hope we see from the Chancellor is an understanding of the difficulties families are facing and a response to make life easier and better for them.’
Ahead of the Budget, Labour launched this poster aimed at the Chancellor saying: 'We've all got budgets, George'
As the economy has recovered, trust in George Osborne and David Cameron has risen, according to recent opinion polls
The return to growth has seen a sharp rise in voters saying they trust Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne with the economy, but Labour is still ahead in the polls.
Polling expert Dr Rob Ford, from the University of Manchester, said before the Budget: 'Most economists are agreed that Britain is heading towards a robust recovery: GDP is steadily growing, unemployment falling; business and consumers are growing in confidence.
'So today’s Budget statement will be surely be the sunniest in George Osborne’s Treasury career.
'But the enduring problem for the Tories is they have seen little evidence the improving economic climate is helping the Government's political fortunes.
'As the months pass, they see no meaningful movement in the polls. Instead, the evidence points to a voteless recovery in 2015. Going on current figures, British voters are unlikely to give the Government any electoral reward for its "tough decisions" heralded by the Tories and Liberal Democrats over the past few years.'
Major boost for tax-free savings and reforms to pension plans
Boost: Savers will be able to put aside more money tax-free thanks to reforms to ISAs
The Chancellor announced major reforms to saving today, overhauling pensions and ISAs in a boost to savers who have seen the value of their nest eggs eroded by low interest rates and high inflation.
The maximum amount which can be invested in a tax-free ISA is set to rise from £11,520 to £15,000, and it will all be able to go into a cash account rather than being invested in shares.
In addition, the limit for a Junior ISA and Child Trust Funds will be raised to £4,000.
Mr Osborne also abolished the 10p tax rate on savings, saying that savings up to £5,000 will now be entirely tax-free.
There were also moves to benefit pensioners, with the announcement that they will no longer be forced to invest their entire pension in an annuity.
The Chancellor launched a new bond for over-65s paying four per cent annual interest over four years and allowing them to avoid the trap of low interest rates.
Pensions expert Ros Altmann tweeted after the speech: 'All I've been calling for suddenly happening. Amazing news. Pensions flexibility, will help so many people feel better about pensions.'
John Fox, director of pension provider Liberty SIPP, added: 'Chapeau to the Chancellor. The changes announced today represent the beginning of the end of pension prohibition.'
Tim Walford-Fitzgerald, of chartered accountants HW Fisher & Company, said: 'Many people seeking to shelter their savings from tax will jump on the chance to save up to £15,000 into an ISA, even with the measly interest rates being paid on cash.
'The removal of the 10 per cent band on savings income will make life much easier for thousands pensioners who are currently being taxed on their savings interest and are unable or unaware that they can claim back the tax.'
Bingo tax cut to 10% with promise of bigger prizes for players
Cutting the tax on bingo will increase prizes and lead to investment in bingo halls, campaigners claim
Bingo players are promised bigger prizes with George Osborne expected slashed gambling duty.
The Chancellor is set to announce he is cutting the 20 per cent duty on bingo earnings to only 10 per cent, lower than the 15 per cent for online gambling and betting on horse races.
It is claimed the move would lead to bigger bingo prizes, investment in tired bingo halls and more jobs in some of the country’s poorest areas.
Bingo clubs are closing at a rate of one a month, according to the Bingo Association. More than 1,000 jobs have been lost since 2012.
The industry had promised to invest an extra £30million in new clubs, better community facilities and more jobs if the duty was reduced to 15 per cent.
A petition signed by 300,000 people backing the Boost Bingo campaign was presented to Number 11 Downing Street last month.
£1 coin scrapped: New version will be shaped like old threepenny bit
New coin: The replacement £1 coin alongside the current version and the old threepenny bit
The £1 coin is to be scrapped in favour of a 12-sided replacement modelled on the old threepenny bit.
George Osborne took a two-coloured prototype to Buckingham Palace last night to show to the Queen.
The Chancellor used today’s Budget to announce that the switchover will start in 2017.
Ministers say urgent action is needed to combat the number of counterfeits in circulation. Designers claim the new coin will be the hardest to copy in the world.
In a nod to Britain’s heritage, it is the same shape as the 12-sided threepenny or ‘thrupenny’ bit, which was in circulation from 1937 until decimalisation in 1971.
The coin – in the same gold and silver colours as the euro – will force firms and councils to make expensive changes to parking meters, vending machines and shopping trolleys.
In a report published today, the Royal Mint estimates that an astonishing 45million £1 coins – 3 per cent of the total – are fake.
The figure is as high as 6 per cent in some parts of the UK and two million counterfeits are removed from circulation every year.
The £1 coin has been in use since 1983 – much longer than the normal life cycle for legal tender of its value – and 1.5billion were in circulation as of March 2013.
The outdated technology used to make the coin leaves it vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeiters.
Its replacement will be roughly the same size with security features including bi-metallic construction, the 12-sided design and the use of iSIS – integrated Secure Identification System.
This means an additive is built into coins which can be authenticated by high-speed scanners.
The technology will allow vending machines to spot fakes much more easily.
Working parents offered £2,000 tax break on cost of childcare
David Cameron unveiled new childcare tax breaks on a visit to the Coin Street nursery in London
Parents who both work are to be given childcare tax breaks worth up to £2,000 a year for every child under 12.
From autumn 2015 the Government will pay 20 per cent of the costs of nurseries, nannies, childminders and breakfast and after-school clubs, up to £10,000 a year per child, with no limit on the number of children that can be claimed for.
A working couple with two children under 12 will therefore be up to £4,000 a year better off, a couple with three children £6,000 better off, and so on.
Up to 1.9million families are expected to benefit when the scheme begins in autumn 2015.
New online tax-free childcare accounts will be run by HM Revenue & Customs, in partnership with National Savings & Investments.
Parents will be able to pay in money, with the Government adding 20p for every 80p credited. The accounts will attract no fees and will allow parents to build up credit for use when they need it most, for example during school holidays.
For the first time, self-employed parents and the vast majority of people working for employers who do not offer the existing workplace vouchers will be able to access tax-free childcare.
Although both parents must be working to claim, the Government has lowered the proposed threshold so that one parent can earn as little as £50 a week and still be eligible.
A new ‘early years pupil premium’ costing £50million a year will be introduced to provide more highly qualified pre-school staff or services such as speech and language specialists for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
£100 income tax cut for every basic ratepayer days before election
Increases in the income tax threshold mean basic rate tax payers will be £800 better off in 2015-16 than in 2010
Workers are to be handed a pre-election tax cut worth an extra £100.
The amount people can earn before paying income tax is to rise to £10,500 from April next year, £500 higher than the coalition planned when it was formed four years ago.
It means anyone earning less than £41,000 a year will be £800 better off in 2015 than in 2010.
Increasing the income tax threshold was a flagship policy of the Lib Dems, who pledged to increase it from £6,475 in 2010 to £10,000 by the general election in 2015.
The policy was adopted by the coalition and became the signature tax cut, despite calls from Tories for a cut in the headline tax rate.
An opinion poll yesterday showed two thirds of voters backed increasing the income tax threshold from £10,000 over helping those caught in the 40p higher rate band.
Mr Osborne has faced a storm of criticism from some Conservatives for freezing and lowering the higher rate of tax - and today he announced that he would raise the threshold for the first time.
This year, the threshold will not kick in until people earn £41,865, rising one per cent to £42,285 next year.
In 2010 when the coalition was formed there were 3.02million people earning more than the £43,875 threshold where they started paying the higher tax rate.
But this year the threshold has fallen to £41,450, which means 4.4million now pay the 40p rate. In 1988 just 1.35million was paying that rate.
Welfare spending to be capped to tighten grip on benefits bill
Britain's bill for pensions and benefits is forecast to hit £167billion by 2016-17
Britain's welfare budget is to be capped to stop the benefits bill ballooning out of control.
Chancellor George Osborne wants to limit the total amount the state spends on handouts, with ministers forced to face a Commons vote if costs spiral.
Mr Osborne said the cap would be set it at £119billion in 2015-16. It will rise, but only in line with forecast inflation, to £127billion in 2018-19.
Only pensions and Jobseekers Allowance will be excluded, meaning a raft of payments including pensioner benefits, income support, maternity pay and housing benefit could be in the firing line.
The move lays down the gauntlet to Labour to match the figure.
Mr Osborne argues that under Labour spending on benefits was 'out of control', with the number of people who have never worked doubling in a decade.
The Chancellor told MPs: 'None of these decisions are easy, but they are the right thing to ensure Britain lives within her means.
'Britain should always be proud of having a welfare system that helps those most in need.
'But never again should we allow its costs to spiral out of control and its incentives to become so distorted that it pays not to work.'
Garden city and 120,000 homes to help more onto property ladder
The new garden city will be built at Ebbsfleet in Kent, which will initially provide 15,000 homes. This artist impression shows how the Ebbsfleet Valley has been earmarked for development for several years
A new garden city is to be built at Ebbsfleet in Kent, under plans for a fresh push to increase the supply of homes.
Amid fears of a new property price bubble fuelled by demand dramatically outstripping supply, George Osborne also announced details of plans for 120,000 new homes to be built by 2020.
The Chancellor wants to present the Tories as the party of ‘aspiration’, helping more people on to the housing ladder.
The controversial Help to Buy scheme for new properties - which had been due to end in 2016 – will be extended to 2020 will support the construction of 120,000 additional homes.
Research suggests the scheme is now supporting up to 30 per cent of all new build homes in England.
Under the scheme, the government lends a prospective home buyer up to 20 per cent of the cost of their new-build home so a buyer only needs a 5 per cent cash deposit and a 75 per cent mortgage to make up the rest.
The Treasury initially set aside £3.7billion for the scheme, but a further £6billion has now been found.
A new garden city will also be built at Ebbsfleet in Kent, which will initially provide 15,000 homes.
Around a third of the homes will be larger properties for families and 40 per cent will be affordable.
It will be modelled on popular garden cities built at the beginning of the last century, including Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City.
The government is to set up an urban development corporation, involving both private and public companies, to help build the new city, and offer £200 million in public investment.
The idea of a new city in Ebbsfleet, which has a Eurostar train station, has been mooted for years but progress has been slow. To date, only 150 new homes have been built.
A £150million rail link to extend the Gospel Park to Barking line to Barking Riverside will also help to deliver 11,000 new homes in London, the government claims.
Tax on fossil fuels frozen to help energy-intensive industries
Steel, chemicals and textiles industries will welcome the move to alleviate pressure on their use of energy
Green taxes on energy which push up energy bills for factories are to be frozen as part of a major package of measures for business.
George Osborne freezed the ‘carbon floor price’, a tax on the use of fossil fuels which hit energy intensive industries hardest.
In a boost to steel, chemicals and textiles plants, the Chancellor said the move was needed to ensure manufacturing remains in Britain.
However, it has been opposed by the nuclear industry and green campaigners who warned it will deter a move to low carbon energy sources.
Business will also be offered more government help to take on staff, secure lending and increase exports.
Mr Osborne has been studying a plan to allow businesses to not pay National Insurance if they hire under-25s.
Small business will be given access to export credit schemes to help them increase sales overseas.
£20million for repairs to cathedrals as Osborne announces funds to commemorate Magna Carta and Alan Turing
Canterbury Cathedral warned last year it could be forced to close to the public after kissing out on £10million from Heritage Lottery Fund
Britain's crumbling cathedrals are to get an extra £20million for repairs.
The money will be used for renovations ahead of the centenary of the First World War later this year.
George Osborne wants cathedrals to act as a ‘focal point’ for local and nation commemorations, after the Church of England warned of an £87million shortfall in funding for repairs.
A Treasury spokesman said: ‘Because of the tough decisions we've taken in day to day spending we can make targeted and deserved investments like this, necessary to safeguard these landmarks for the next generation.’
In other moves related to preserving Britain's heritage, Mr Osborne said that he would make fund moves to commemorate the signing of the Magna Carta and codebreaker Alan Turing.
He announced the Magna Carta plans with a jab at Mr Miliband's leadership victory over his brother David with the help of union bosses, saying: 'We will also support the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta next year.
'King John's humbling centuries ago seems unimaginably distant. A weak leader, who had risen to the top - after betraying his brother, compelled by a gang of unruly barons to sign on the dotted line.
'So I will provide a grant to the Magna Carta Trust to ensure that today’s generation learn the lessons of the past.'
However, the announcement could also revive memories of David Cameron failing to explain the meaning of 'Magna Carta' while speaking to U.S. chat show host David Letterman in 2012.
Paying tribute to Turing, who helped win the Second World War but was then persecuted for being gay, the Chancellor said: 'I am delighted that he has finally received a posthumous Royal Pardon.
'Now, in his honour, we will found the Alan Turing Institute to ensure Britain leads the way again in the use of big data and algorithm research.'
He also pledged to offer tax relief to theatre companies to support regional productions and tours.
Canterbury Cathedral warned last year it could be forced to close to the public after kissing out on £10million from Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Very Revd Vivienne Faull, Dean of York, told the Telegraph: ‘I am particularly happy to welcome this fund as is about much more than just beautiful buildings. Whether great or small, cathedrals are part of the lifeblood of their cities.
‘They are a source of community spirit and local pride. They are part of the identity of England.’
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