Budget Live: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt expected to cut 2p from National Insurance

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will today hope to give his party a much-needed boost ahead of a pending General Election via the Budget. The party is trailing in the polls and the Budget is seen to tempt voters to the party with a move that will see millions of voters get an extra £450 a year.

Policies being touted include a plan to cut 2p from National Insurance from April, a move estimated to benefit 27 million workers by £450 each. Mr Hunt will announce the Budget in the House of Commons at 12.30pm on Wednesday, March 6.

Plans to cut income tax have reportedly been scrapped because the Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent watchdog, significantly downgraded the amount of “fiscal headroom” available for tax cuts or spending commitments. In December there was about £30 billion but by last week that figure had fallen to £12.8 billion because of a combination of higher government borrowing costs and lower than expected tax receipts.

Cutting income tax by 2p would cost £13.7bn a year, as it benefits both people in work, pensioners and the self employed. A cut of two percentage points in employee national insurance costs about £10 billion a year.

Mr Hunt is also expected to announce a new levy on vaping with an associated rise in tobacco duty. He is also expected to reduce the scope of non-dom tax relief and extend the levy on the profits of North Sea oil and gas companies. Tax breaks will also be reduced for people who own second homes which they rent out as holiday properties. He will also tell councils in England to save money by clamping down on excess spending and the use of consultants.

Words trailed before the Budget say that he will "set out [a] path to more investment, more jobs, more productive public services and