A Budget with far less chaos than billed but big tax moves

This was a Budget which was probably far less chaotic and dramatic than many people might have expected given its billing.

The challenges facing Chancellor Rachel Reeves had been firmly in the spotlight for weeks, with dire warnings over the size of the black hole in the public finances she would have to fill to meet Labour’s fiscal rules and sharp downgrades in growth forecasts looming.

In the end, in contrast to the shambles created by the early release of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and fiscal outlook well before Ms Reeves even got to her feet to deliver her speech, her performance today might even have been considered accomplished.

This was no mean feat, with swingeing cuts to growth forecasts for coming years requiring some big revenue-raising measures fro