Spring Statement 2018: What can we expect from the Chancellor's speech?

Chancellor Philip Hammond is due to say that the UK economy is in better shape than expected in his Spring Statement today.

He will argue that despite the economic uptick, national debt remains too high for the Government to put an end to austerity.

As a percentage of national income, debt is still well over 80%.

According to the BBC, the Government is however looking at ways of providing more cash for the NHS. Measures could include a tax for health or tax rises in other areas.

Spring Statement 2018 will be a much shorter event than usual. It is already confirmed that it won’t serve as a ‘mini-Budget’, with the usual raft of policy, tax and spending announcements to be withheld for the Autumn Budget.

There will also be no photocall outside 11 Downing Street, where Chancellors have traditionally held up the iconic red box for members of the press.

This year’s Spring Statement will instead see Mr Hammond reveal the latest economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The speech to MPs is likely to last 15 minutes and start at 12:30pm.

At Bdaily, we’ve collected expectations and forecasts from some of our key regions ahead of the statement. Click here for our North East roundup, or here for views from the North West.

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