Spring Budget 2021: Sunak adds £65bn of support as OBR cuts growth forecast

Chancellor promises 'whatever it takes'

Chancellor Rishi Sunak provided an additional £65bn of fiscal support in today’s (3 March) Spring Budget, promising the UK Government will do "whatever it takes" to support the UK economy, which is expected to bounce back more slowly than expected this year.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that it now expects the UK economy to grow by 4% in 2021, down from the 5.5% forecast in November, with GDP growth of 7.3%, 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.7% in the four years that follows respectively. According to the ONS, the UK economy fared better than expected in 2020, falling by 9.9% compared to 11.3% forecast in November. Addressing the House of Commons, Sunak was clear that despite the government's "unprecedented response" the economic implications of the pandemic has been "acute" amid more than 700,000 job losses and borrowing at its highe...