- .Chancellor delivers last Autumn Statement before the general election
- .Boasts that the economy and employment are rising faster than expected
- .Economy set to grow by 3% this year, up from 2.7% forecast in March
- .OBR says deficit to fall from £97.5 billion last year to £91.3 billion this year
- .By 2019-20 the UK will be running a surplus of £23billion, Chancellor says
- .Banks will be banned from rolling over half of losses, raising £4billion
- .The fees imposed on non-doms living in Britain increased to up to £90,000
- .An extra £2billion-a-year to the 'frontline of the National Health Service'
- .4,000 jobless EU migrants deported if they have no prospect of work
- .'Teletubbie tax break' to encourage more children's TV to be made in UK
- .Osborne promises billions more for roads, housing and flood defences
- .Review of business rates and banks told to lend more to small firms
- .Air passenger duty for under-12s scrapped, cutting cost of family holidays
- .National debt incurred during First World War is to be repaid
George Osborne today urges voters to allow him to 'finish the job' of repairing the nation's finances
George Osborne today dramatically announced he is scrapping the hated stamp duty 'slab' system which will make it cheaper to buy any home worth less than almost £1million.
From midnight tonight, stamp duty will no longer leap at each thresholds but will rise gradually, with multi-million pound sales costing much more.
The Chancellor unveiled an Autumn Statement which he said was built on an aspiration to work, save and own a home.
He announced tax cuts for small business and low and middle earners while going after banks and multi-nationals who try to avoid paying their share.
But he was forced to admit he is only halfway to meeting his promise to halve the deficit during this Parliament, with £30billion in spending cuts needed by 2017-18.
In a highly-political statement, the Tory Chancellor mocked Labour for creating a 'shambles' with the economy and set out his key dividing lines for the election which is now less than six months away.
He boasted that he had brought Britain back from the brink, telling MPs: 'We set a course to restore stability, get on top of our debts and show Britain was not going to be counted out. Through the storm we have stayed the course.'
The stamp duty overhaul will be welcomed by those struggling to get on to the property ladder, or looking to buy a new home just above one of the old thresholds.
But it risks angering those living in more expensive properties worth over £1million, particularly in London.
In a packed Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne also announced:
- A surprise increase in the amount workers can earn before paying income tax to £10,600 from April, days before the election
- National Insurance contributions paid for by employers will be scrapped if they take on apprentices under the age of 25
- There will be a clampdown on banks, multi-national businesses and non-doms avoiding 'paying their fair share'
- An extra £2billion will be directed to the 'frontline' of the National Health Service
- A review of business rates will help small, high street firms to take on online giants
- Billions of pounds will be found for new roads and flood defences across the country
The stamp duty changes will come into effect from midnight tonight, and 98 per cent of property sales will become cheaper as a result.
Instead it will raise more money from multi-million pound property transactions, in a move aimed at demolishing Labour's calls for a mansion tax. It could risk angering traditional Tory voters who live in high value properties.
Critics of the current 'slab' system say it distorts the market because it suddenly jumps up at arbitrary thresholds.
Under the old system the headline rate of stamp duty was imposed on the entire amount.
It meant that a property costing between £125,000 and £250,000 was charged at 1 per cent of its value.
However, if a property cost just over £250,000, the stamp duty charged on the total amount suddenly jumped to 3 per cent.
With the new system, the higher stamp duty levels will only be charged on the amount above each threshold, in the same way that higher rates of income tax are only charged on earnings above set levels.
It will end the long-standing problem of people struggling to sell homes at values just above each threshold.
Under the new system any home sold for less than £937,500 will cost less in stamp duty than under the old system.
Homes worth less than 125,000 will continue to carry no stamp duty at all.
Anyone buying a home worth between £125,001 and £250,000 will have to pay 2 per cent in tax.
On houses worth between £250,001 and £925,000, they will pay 2 per cent on the slice from £125,001 and £250,000 and then only 5 per cent on the amount between £250,001 and £925,000.
The value of a property between £925,001 and £1.5million will be taxed at 10 per cent, and on more than £1.5million it will rise to 12 per cent tax.
Only homes that cost over £937,000 will see their bill go up. A £5 million pound house will see its stamp duty rise from £350,000 to £514,000.
Mr Osborne said: 'The system I introduce today replaces a badly designed system that has distorted our housing market for decades.
'It reduces the stamp taxes for 98 per cent of people who pay them in this country. It increases the taxes on the most expensive 2 per cent of homes, but only asks people to pay that tax when they buy the house and they have the money.
'And it does not involve a revaluation of hundreds of thousands of homes in this country.'
It is the boldest move in an Autumn Statement which also included tax cuts for small business and low and middle earners.
The Chancellor announced he was scrapping employers' National Insurance contributions if they take on apprentices.
And he revealed he will increase the amount workers can earn to £10,600 - giving workers a tax cut days before the general election.
But he was forced to admit that the government is nowhere near meeting its 2010 pledge to balance the books by the end of the Parliament.
Under the changes, stamp duty on properties under £937,500 will fall but the bill will rise for more expensive houses
The Chancellor today abolished the 'slab' system which meant the amount paid in stamp duty increased sharply at each threshold
He repeated his boast 'we are all in this together' as he announced tax raids on banks and non-doms to get Britain's finances back into the black.
He boasted that he has brought the British economy back from the brink over the last four years.
The Chancellor used his his Autumn Statement to plead for time to 'finish the job', warning a change of course now would 'squander' prosperity.
He revealed growth in this year is now expected to hit 3 per cent, up from 2.7 per cent forecast in March this year.
And he told MPs that under the coalition, Britain has created 1,000 jobs every day since 2010.
Out of the red and into the black for the first time in a generation
Chancellor George Osborne
With less than six months until the election, Mr Osborne used a highly-political statement to the Commons to throw down the gauntlet to rival parties to back his plan to eradicate the deficit by 2017-18.
Mr Osborne announced a surprise increase in the amount workers can earn before paying income tax.
The personal allowance was due to rise to £10,500 in April next year, but will instead go up to £10,600.
The extra £100 will amount to a £20 tax cut, and will mean that since 2010 basic rate taxpayers are £825 better off.
The Lib Dems promised to increase the personal allowance in 2010 general election, and the idea has been adopted by the Tories.
Both parties are promising to increase it further to £12,500 in the next Parliament.
Mr Osborne also announced the first increase in the 40p tax threshold in line with inflation for 5 years to £42,385.
The amount of money workers can earn before paying tax will rise to £10,600 from April next year, £100 higher than expected, Mr Osborne said
Employers will not have to pay national insurance contributions if they hire apprentices under the age of 25.
The move is designed to encourage firms to take on more trainee staff. It will be capped at those earning up to £42,000.
The Employment Allowance, which means employers can reduce their national insurance bill by up to £2,000, will be extended to car and support workers.
Revealing that the deficit has been halved over this Parliament, he said the Office for Budget Responsibility now forecasts the deficit will fall slightly from £97.5 billion last year to £91.3 billion this year.
It will then drop to £75.9 billion next year then £40.9 billion and £14.5 billion in subsequent years before reaching a surplus of £4 billion in 2018-19.
But he confirmed that borrowing was estimated be £91.3 billion this year - rather than the £86.4 billion the Office for Budget Responsibility previously expected.
He told MPs that by 2019-20 the UK will be spending £23billion less than it raises in tax.
He said the country would be 'out of the red and into the black for the first time in a generation'.
In a crowd-pleasing move, Mr Osborne launched a tax raid on banks rolling over losses to reduce their Corporation Tax bill.
In future they will only be able to roll over half of losses, raising an extra £4billion for the Treasury over five years.
He said: 'Under the rules we inherited banks can offset all their losses from the financial crisis against tax on profits for years to come.
'Some banks wouldn't be paying tax for 15 or 20 years. That's totally unacceptable. The banks got public support in the crisis and they should now support the public in the recovery.'
The annual levy charged on non-doms will also be increased. The levy is charged as a £30,000 fee on those who have lived in Britain for more than seven years in return for only paying UK tax on income brought into the country.
Mr Osborne's dramatic overhaul of the stamp duty system is designed to counter Labour's popular call for a mansion tax, charged on £2million homes every year
Mr Osborne announced the fee for those who have been in the UK for 12 out of 14 years will rise to £60,000, and for those who have been in Britain for 17 out of 20 years it will cost £90,000.
A clampdown on aggressive tax avoidance will raise £2.8 billion. The Chancellor also confirmed plans to implement a 25 per cent 'Google tax' on profits shipped offshore by multinational tech companies in Britain.
Meanwhile, tax breaks will be offered to TV production companies to make children's programmes in Britain.
Mr Osborne said: 'Over the course of this Parliament the net contribution to deficit reduction of the top 20 per cent will be more than the other 80 per cent put together.'
The Chancellor said this showed 'we were all in it together'.
Unveiling extra help for business, billions to be spent on roads and housing and modest tax breaks for families, he urges voters not to hand control of the economy back to Labour who created the 'mess' he has been clearing up.
Mr Osborne boasted that his 'long term economic plan is working', with the economy and employment growing faster than expected.
He told MPs: 'Four years ago in the first Autumn Statement of this Parliament I presented the accounts of an economy in crisis and today in the last Autumn Statement of his Parliament I presented a forecast that shows the UK is the fastest growing of any major advanced economy in the world.
'Back then Britain was on the brink and today against a difficult global backdrop, I can report higher growth, lower unemployment, a falling deficit.'
Mr Osborne told MPs that the economy is now expected to grow by 3 per cent in 2014, higher than previously forecast
However in 2010, the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted that borrowing would be just £37billion in 2014-15. Instead today it remains at close to £100billion.
While there are record numbers of people in work, many are in low paid jobs. These workers have benefitted most from the coalition policy of not paying income on the first £10,000 of earnings.
But it means the Treasury is raising less than expected from taxes to offset spending. At the Budget in March this year it was thought tax revenues would grow by 5 per cent in 2014-15.
But so far they are up by just 1.8 per cent, leaving the Chancellor struggling to make his figures add up.
The economy has grown by more than 8 per cent over the Parliament and business investment has risen by 27 per cent, Mr Osborne said.
Families will also receive a boost on their annual holiday with the scrapping of air passenger duty for children under 12. From next year it will rise to cover under-16s, Mr Osborne said.
It will save a family of four flying economy some £26 for a break to Europe and as much as £194 on a long-haul trip.
Mr Osborne said: 'Now Britain faces a choice. Do we squander the economic security we have gained, go back to the disastrous decisions on spending and borrowing and welfare that got us into this mess?
'Or do we finish the job – and go on building the secure economy that works for everyone. I say: we stay the course. We stay the course to prosperity. We support people who want to work hard and get on. And it is for their sakes that we resolve to stay on course to prosperity.'
The Chancellor, who left the Treasury with Lib Dem Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, insists his economic plan is working
Anti austerity protesters last night lined up masks of Mr Osborne opposite Downing Street as the warned against more cuts
Doctors surgeries will be upgraded using a new £1 billion fund paid for by bank fines.
The Chancellor said the cash would pay for a 'permanent improvement in GP services' and comes on top of an extra £2 billion injection into the NHS budget for the frontline.
Mr Osborne promises more help for small business, confirm billions to be spent on roads, flood defences and housing. There will be the offer of tax breaks to search and rescue charities, after Prince William lobbied David Cameron personally. Hospices will also benefit.
For drivers, Mr Osborne is scrapping the Fair Fuel Stabiliser which would have added 1p per litre next March.
The measure was designed to keep pump prices lower when the oil price rose, but increase the duty when global oil prices fell.
However, the Chancellor has ruled out a rise in duty just weeks before the election.
The government will also launch the first trial of signs on motorways displaying petrol prices, to stop drivers being ripped off once they have turned off to a service station.
Some 4,000 EU migrants on the dole in Britain will be deported if they cannot show they are about to start jobs.
The Tories have made clear they would seek to balance the books through spending cuts alone, with cutting welfare the top priority.
Another £25billion in savings are needed over the next four years. In addition to ending borrowing, the Tories have also promised tax cuts for low and middle earners worth £7.2billion.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has branded the approach 'complete and utter nonsense' and insisted there must also be tax rises.
However, both coalition parties are committed to eradicating the deficit by 2017-18.
Labour says it would balance the books on day to day spending, but would borrow billions more to pay for big infrastructure projects.
In a direct challenge to Labour, Mr Osborne is planning to force a vote on eliminating the deficit.
Mr Osborne announced a review of business rates, with reforms to be implemented in the 2016 Budget.
An inflation-linked increase in business rates will also be capped at 2 per cent and discount for shops, pubs and cafes increased by 50 per cent to £1,500.
Companies pay the levy based on the size of their premises. But critics say at a time when online firms - which have a much smaller physical presence - are booming, high street traders are put at a disadvantage.
David Cameron emerged from Downing Street this morning to head to the Commons to listen to the Autumn Statement
Mr Osborne briefed the Cabinet at a special meeting this morning, including Home Secretary Theresa May and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith
Lib Dem Business Secretary and Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander pictured leaving Number 10
Business rates are also not linked to income, so companies must pay the same amount regardless of the economic conditions or their own performance in any one year.
For example, Harrods and the online clothes firm Asos both have turnover of around £700million.
But Harrods - the Knightsbridge department store - pays business rates of £11.5million, while Asos will pay only £935,000 on its offices and storage facilities, according to BBC research.
The review will not seek to cut the total amount raised from business rates - £25billion a year - but distribute the burden more fairly.
There will also be an overhaul of the Bank of England's Funding for Lending scheme, which allows banks to borrow money more cheaply on condition they then lend to small businesses.
The scheme was due to end in January, but will now continue for another year.
And the rules will be rewritten to target loans to small and medium-sized firms.
An extra £400million will be given to the British Business Bank, which has supported 38,000 firms to date.
Together Mr Osborne says it amounts to an extra £1billion in finance for smaller firms.
While annual borrowing had been falling in late 2012, since then it has remained stubbornly around the £100billion mark
With Britain borrowing billions every year, the total net public debt is set to top £1.5trillion before the end of the decade
In June 2010 Mr Osborne boasted that he would have 'eliminated' the deficit by 2014-15.
'We have set the course for a balanced budget and falling national debt by the end of this Parliament,' he predicted in the Coalition's emergency budget.
Instead borrowing has remained stubbornly high, and barely changed in the last 12 months.
Time and again the Chancellor has seen the economic forecasts shift, with hopes of balancing the books drifting further into the future.
Britain will still not be back in the black, spending less than it raises in tax, until 2018-19, a decade after the financial crash.
Economic growth has been much stronger than expected. Last year output grew by three times as much as the forecast 0.6 per cent.
In March this year the OBR predicted 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.
Now it forecasts UK GDP growth of 2.4 per cent in 2015, 2.2 per cent in 2016, then 2.4 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 2.3 per cent in subsequent years.
David Cameron and George Osborne have now failed every test and broken every promise they made on the economy
Labour's Ed Balls
Unemployment has also fallen sharply, dropping to 6 per cent for the first time since autumn 2008.
Pay is also rising faster than the cost of living for the first time in five years.
Average earnings in re 1.3 per cent higher than a year ago, compared to inflation running at 1.2 per cent, with workers in the private sector enjoying even higher pay rises.
It comes as 115,000 people found a job in the three months to September, with a record 30.8million now in work.
Labou's shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: 'David Cameron and George Osborne have now failed every test and broken every promise they made on the economy.
'They promised living standards would rise, but while millionaires have got a huge tax cut working people are £1600 a year worse off under the Tories. This cost-of-living crisis is why the Chancellor will have to admit he has broken his promise to balance the books by next year.
'A Labour Autumn Statement would set out a better and fairer plan to deliver a recovery that works for the many and not just a few.'
Flight tax on children axed, saving £140 on holiday to Florida
Families with children will save hundreds of pounds off the cost of their holidays after George Osborne axed taxes on flights today.
The Chancellor abolished air passenger duty on all flights for children under the age of 12.
Mr Osborne's Autumn Statement announcement is a major boost for families who are hit by higher holiday costs during term time.
Air passenger duty adds £138 for two children's tickets to North America, £170 to the Caribbean and £194 for flights to Australia or New Zealand
The tax currently adds between £13 and £97 to the cost of a flight, depending on how far the final destination is from London.
A family of four pays £52 in flight taxes for a ticket to Europe - of which £26 is for children.
The duty adds £138 for two children's tickets to North America, £170 to the Caribbean and £194 for flights to Australia or New Zealand.
Mr Osborne last year announced that the two higher air duty tax bands would be scrapped in April 2015 – with all flights over 2,000 miles charged at the same rate.
It meant that flights to the West Indies, South America, India, China and Australia will all be charged the same tax as a flight to New York.
All long haul flights will, from next year, will be charged £71 extra per ticket.
Hated business rates could be SCRAPPED in long-awaited review
Business taxes that have existed since Tudor times could be scrapped, Chancellor George Osborne announced today.
Mr Osborne will today put reform of despised business rates – and more cheap loans for small firms – at the centre of his plans to secure the recovery.
In an unashamedly pro-enterprise Autumn Statement, the Chancellor will reveal that the tax on commercial property in the UK is to be reviewed, paving the way for a fundamental overhaul.
Chancellor George Osborne and the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander ahead of the Autumn Statement today
Retailers have long been pushing for reform of rates – which have existed in various forms since 1601 – to ease the pressure on the high street.
Sources suggest that moving away from a charge based on the rateable value of a commercial property to a modern alternative – such as a sales tax – is being considered. The smallest businesses could be exempted altogether.
Critics of the system say that in the age of internet commerce, it is absurd that company taxes are based on the physical space they use. Business rates are often a firm's third biggest outgoing, after wages and rent.
As well as announcing a review of business rates, to draw up reforms to be implemented in the 2016 Budget, Mr Osborne will announce an overhaul and extension of the Treasury and Bank of England's flagship funding scheme for business.
£2.3billion of flood defences to protect 300,000 more homes
More than 1,400 flood defence projects costing £2.3billion to protect vulnerable homes have been given the green light.
It means around 300,000 more homes will be protected. The National Audit Office warned recently that half of the UK's flood defences are running at 'minimal level' and likely to give way if there is heavy rain again this year.
Swamped: The Kirby family stands nearly waist-deep in dirty water inside their home in the village of Moorland, Somerset, during last winter's severe flooding
Ministers have commited to spending £15.5million on flood defences in Somerset over the next six years, which they hope will benefit 7,000 properties.
It includes £4.2million to be spent on the Somerset Levels which were worst affected by flooding last winter, the wettest since records began in 1910.
There will also be major investment in areas such as the Humber Estuary, where £80million will be spent, and £196million for a programme in the Thames Estuary.
Officials claim the six-year programme would help prevent more than £30billion of economic damage.
Other flood defence projects will include schemes at Tonbridge, Yalding and surrounding communities in Kent – which will receive more than £17million – £73million for the Boston barrier in Lincolnshire, £42million for a scheme in Oxford and £47million for coastal defence improvements for Rossall, Lancashire.
Teletubbies tax cut: Cutting the cost of making childrens' TV
TV production companies are to be offered tax breaks to make children's programmes in the UK.
The Chancellor wants to ensure a new generation of hit shows are British-made, to follow in the oddly-shaped footsteps of the Teletubbies and the Tweenies.
There are fears that other countries are more attractive to make children's programming, seeing British talent move overseas.
The industry argues that tax breaks are needed for children's TV to ensure a new generation of hit shows are British-made, to follow in the oddly-shaped footsteps of the Teletubbies
Mr Osborne used his 2012 Budget to announce a major boost for British drama, unveiling what was quickly dubbed a 'Downton Abbey tax break'.
Homegrown TV productions were given discounts of between 20 and 25 per cent on their corporation tax bill, to encourage more high-end drama to be made in the UK.
Today Mr Osborne announced a similar scheme will be offered to children's TV as well.
It follows a campaign by Pact, the trade association for the UK's independent TV production companies, calling for tax credits offered to film, high-end television and animation to be given to children's TV.
Britain to FINALLY repay WWI debts... 100 years after war started
Britain's First World War debt will finally be repaid in full – 100 years after the outbreak of hostilities.
George Osborne said the Government would pay off the £1.9billion still owed to around 120,000 people who hold 'War Bonds'.
About 97,000 of these investors hold less than £1,000 and almost 38,000 holders own less than £100, the Treasury said.
Taxpayers have paid £5.5 billion in interest on First World War 'war loans' since the Government first asked people to lend them money to finance the conflict in 1917
Mr Osborne has decided to pay off the debts because he can borrow the money cheaper elsewhere.
At the moment the Government pays 3.5 per cent in interest on the £1.9billion War Loans.
The Debt Management Office estimates that Britain has paid some £5.5 billion in total interest on the loans since 1917.
Mr Osborne said: 'This is a moment for Britain to be proud of. We can, at last, pay off the debts Britain incurred to fight the First World War.
'It is a sign of our fiscal credibility and it's a good deal for this generation of taxpayers. It's also another fitting way to remember that extraordinary sacrifice of the past.'
Victory for Prince William: Air-sea rescue charities get VAT back
Prince William is said to have been angry at pressure on air-sea rescue services
Search and Rescue and air ambulance charities are to get VAT refunds and more Government cash following lobbying from Prince William.
The Chancellor will announce in today's autumn statement VAT breaks for the sector from next April, alongside £7.5 million extra support for air ambulances. The tax refunds will be worth £25 million over five years.
The Duke of Cambridge, the second-in-line to the throne, is said to have been angry at pressure on air-sea rescue services.
As a helicopter pilot at RAF Valley in Anglesey, he has helped out with mountain rescue, coastguard and air ambulance services.
David Cameron revealed at Prime Minister's Questions in 2011 that the Prince had urged him to do more to support the services, many of which are run by charities.
'I have been lobbied extensively about airsea rescue, by people from all walks of life, if I can put it that way,' he said.
Currently, most search and rescue and Air Ambulance charities cannot claim VAT back on their activities.
Inland safety and air ambulance charities can already take advantage of the Chancellor's announcement earlier this year of a five year grant scheme to help them mitigate the costs of fuel and fuel duty.
Today's measure will mean all 150 search and rescue and air ambulance charities will be able to apply for VAT refunds on all their search and rescue activities as of April 1 next year.
As well as VAT refunds, the Chancellor will announced £1 million for the Great Western Air Ambulance, which will pay for the first year of a new helicopter's running cost.
The Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance Trust will get £1.5 million towards the cost of a new helicopter. The Chancellor will also create a 'helipad fund' worth at least £5 million to pay for more landing sites.
An extra £3billion for the National Health Service
Doctors surgeries will be upgraded using a new £1 billion fund paid for by bank fines.
The Chancellor said the cash would pay for a 'permanent improvement in GP services' and comes on top of an extra £2 billion injection into the NHS budget.
The funding will allow patients to undergo chemotherapy and dialysis closer to home.
The other £2 billion comes from £1.3 billion in new cash from the Treasury – with £700 million from Health Department 'reallocated' to the frontline NHS.
The Chancellor hopes increased funding for the NHS will counter Labour attacks on the Tory record on health
George Osborne argues that extra NHS funding should be allied to the more efficient management which he claims would be ensured by a Conservative administration.
'This will support the day- to-day work of our incredible nurses, doctors and other NHS staff; but it is also a down- payment on the future of our health service,' he said.
'This new money will be used to buy the new facilities and services that will help transform the NHS so it becomes more efficient for taxpayers and effective for patients.'
Talks on £800million tidal lagoon to harness power of the sea
The government is to enter talks with a company bidding to build the world's first tidal lagoon energy plant in Swansea Bay.
The developers of the £800million project have said their application is the first step to developing technology that could meet 10 per cent of the UK's electricity needs from the tides.
If it goes ahead, the scheme would involve a six-mile wall built around Swansea Bay, creating a lagoon in the Severn Estuary with turbines that can harness the incoming and outgoing tides to generate power 14 hours a day.
An artist's impression of the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon which the government is to explore in a new round of talks
The scheme would provide renewable power for 120,000 homes for 120 years, saving 236,000 tonnes of carbon a year and creating 1,850 construction jobs as well as 150 long-term jobs in operation and leisure facilities on the lagoon.
Other projects being announced include a deal with Toshiba, GDF Suez and NuGen to provide a guarantee to assist the financing of a new nuclear power plant at Moorside, near Sellafield in Cumbria.
Up to £50million will be available to support innovation in manufacturing ultra-low emission vehicles.
It has also been confirmed that £15billion of new roads are to be built in the biggest road-building programme for half a century.
It wasn't meant to be like this: How Osborne hoped to have almost cleared the deficit by now but is still a long way off
There is a speech which George Osborne hoped to deliver today which will have to remain in the Treasury drawer for a few years yet.
It is the one where the Chancellor declares that the deficit has been eliminated and the government is raising more in tax than it spends
In 2010 Mr Osborne confidently declared that he would balance the books by 2014-15, but today he is forced admit that borrowing remains stubbornly high.
In June 2010, the Office for Budget for Responsibility predicted that in 2014-15 borrowing would fall to just £37billion, but it has remained high at around £100billion and is not expected to return a surplus until 2018-19
In 2010 George Osborne remained confident that borrowing would fall sharply, but in 2011 and 2012 a deterioration in the economic picture meant the prospect of balancing the books slipped further into the future
Mr Osborne will boast that the economy is now growing strongly, and faster than most other countries. But its has failed to keep pace with the predictions made in 2010
National debt as a proportion of the economy (GDP) was supposed to start falling in 2013-14, but has instead been rising and is not expected to peak until next year
Four years ago the OBR hoped for strong growth in pay, but low wages have persisted and have only just started to outstrip inflation
One of the big success stories of the coalition government has been the huge growth in employment, with latest figures showing there are 30.8million in work, a figure which was not expected to be reached until 2016
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