Good morning: “Whatever it takes”. That is the vow from the chancellor ahead of today’s budget as he pledges to use the “full measure of our fiscal firepower” to save jobs as Britain emerges from the lockdown. In the last of the pre-budget leaks briefings (anyone else old enough to remember when the contents of the red box were a surprise?) the chancellor has announced overnight that the government is extending furlough for another five months taking it beyond the final easing of restrictions on June 21. SponsoredThe extension is part of a package of measures in the budget worth at least £30 billion to support those hardest hit by the lockdown, including grants for the self-employed, a six-month extension of the £20-a-week rise in

Source: The Times March 03, 2021 09:00 UTC