Jeremy Hunt, the UK Finance Minister, is announcing the Spring Budget. This could be the last fiscal event before the General Elections that are expected to be challenging for the Conservative Party.

Economists predicted that Hunt would use the small windfall to offer tax cuts to the electorate as he sought to win over the electorate. The main opposition Labour Party was leading in all national polls by more than 20 percentage points.

The chancellor must navigate the fragile public finances, a stagnant and slow-growing economy that will enter a technical recession by the end of 2023.

Hunt’s autumn statement in November saw the market expect interest rates to be lower than they were before. However, many British households still feel the pinch of rising costs, and public services are stretched.

Jeremy Hunt said the government would privatize its remaining 31% stake in NatWest.

This summer, at the latest, a retail investor will be able to purchase it.

The government bought the stake in 2008 to save the Royal Bank of Scotland from the Great Financial Crisis.

AstraZeneca invests PS650 Million in the UK

Hunt points out that AstraZeneca announced today a PS650-million investment in the U.K. to expand their footprint on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and a manufacturing center in Liverpool.

He also says that the government will provide an extra PS45 million to fund medical research. This includes cancer, dementia, and epilepsy.

Hunt will spend PS200 Million to extend the Recovery Loan Program

Hunt has promised to spend PS200 million on extending the recovery loan program, and increasing the VAT registration threshold (sales tax levied) from PS85,000 up to PS90,000. This will allow many small businesses to avoid paying VAT.

Hunt launches new ‘British ISA” to drive UK stock investments

Hunt says the U.K. will become the next Silicon Valley. The government plans to introduce a “British ISA” that allows investments up to PS5,000 into British companies.

An ISA is a popular account for saving money in the UK. It offers interest payments that are tax-free.

The government announced that it would require pension funds to disclose the amount of money they invest in U.K. markets versus foreign markets.

Jeremy Hunt, the U.K. finance minister, said that government borrowing will fall in the next few years. He was presenting economic forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Hunt said the government would likely meet its goal of reducing public sector borrowings to 3% (GDP), three years earlier than scheduled.

Hunt stated that running out of cash is not a compassionate act.