Cigarettes and alcohol up by 2%, fuel duty up by 2p from later this year - but pensions going up.
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Compare this year's Budget with the one Gordon Brown delivered himself as Chancellor in 1999.
13.27pm reaction
The Government will go ahead with an increase in alcohol duty of 2%, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced in the Budget today.
The increase will anger the ailing beer and pub industry which had called on Mr Darling to scrap plans for the tax rise.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has said the increase would mean an extra 5p on the average pint of beer.
The UK pub industry is already under great pressure, with pubs closing at an average of 39 a week.
The 2% rise in alcohol duty will be implemented at midnight tonight.
Tobacco duty will also go up by 2%, starting at 6pm this evening.
Mr Darling said said these measures would raise more than £6 billion by 2012.BBPA and the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) ran a campaign to "Axe the Tax'', calling for Mr Darling to scrap the duty on beer, which was planned as a 2% rise above the rate of inflation over the next four years.
Reacting to the announcement today, Mike Benner, Camra chief executive, said: "It is disappointing that the Chancellor has ignored widespread public concern about the plight of Britain’s pubs and decided to press ahead with an increase which will result in yet more valued community pubs closing down.
"Well-run community pubs are already struggling as a result of last year’s 18% increase in beer duty and the recession.
"This further beer duty increase will push more valued pubs over the edge, resulting in job losses, reduced Government tax revenue and many more deprived of their favourite local pub.
"Well-run pubs provide an enjoyable and affordable night out in a safe and supervised environment and this duty increase will simply fuel irresponsible drinking of cheap discount alcohol in people’s homes, public parks and on the streets."
A BBPA spokesman said: "Today’s budget signs the death warrant for thousands of Britain’s pubs and for tens of thousands of British jobs.
"Pubs play a vital role in the economy and in local communities.
"Yet six are closing every day and more than 2,000 have gone in the last 12 months alone.
"The Chancellor’s unfair and unjustified announcement today condemns thousands more to shut for good.
"In imposing these additional beer taxes, the Government has wilfully ignored the views of the public, landlords, consumer groups, industry representatives and MPs from all parties who have been calling for action to save the British pub.
"At a time when the rest of the economy is getting a supporting hand, the beer and pub industry is being singled out for punitive action.
"Last year the Chancellor raised beer tax by an eye-watering 18%.
"Today’s rise is a further body blow. The result will be more pubs closing, more jobs being lost and more people consuming alcohol outside supervised, licensed premises."
He said campaigners would now be looking for public and industry support to force the Government to scrap the tax.
13.21pm
Pensioners’ Winter Fuel Allowance to be kept at higher level of £250 for over-60s and £400 for over-80s for another year.
13.20pm
Chancellor confirms commitment to increase the basic state pension by at least 2.5%, regardless of RPI.
13.16pm
Fuel duty will increase by 2p per litre in September and then by 1p a litre above indexation each April for the next four years. Alcohol duties will go up by 2% from midnight tonight. There will be an increase in tobacco duty of 2% from 6pm tonight. These measures will raise over £6 billion by 2012.
13.08pm
Round-up so far
Public borrowing will soar to a record £175 billion in the current year - or 12.4% of the UK’s annual economic output - Chancellor Alistair Darling said today.
The plunge into red comes as the Treasury wrestles with a toxic combination of falling tax receipts, higher spending and the cost of bank bail-outs.
Including the £90 billion borrowing for 2008/09 unveiled today, total net borrowing is forecast to hit £696 billion by 2012/13 - almost £240 billion more than the Chancellor predicted in November’s Pre-Budget Report.
Mr Darling also confirmed the worst year for the economy since the Second World War with a 3.5% decline in 2009 - far worse than his pre-Budget forecasts.
He expects the economy to grow by 1.25% in 2010 - also below November’s forecasts - before the pace of the economy quickens in 2011 with a 3.5% expansion.
13.07pm
Personal allowances to be fully withdrawn for those with incomes over £100,000 from next April.
13.06pm
No income tax increase this year. However, the planned new top income tax rate of 45% on incomes above £150,000 will be increased to 50% and take effect from next April - a year earlier than planned.
13.05pm
The Chancellor attempted to kickstart the ailing motor industry today by introducing a "cash for bangers" car-scrappage scheme.
Anyone with a car registered before December 31 1999 will get a cash incentive of £2,000 to trade in their old vehicle for a brand new one.
A total of £1,000 will come from the Government and the remaining £1,000 from car companies, with participants being able to buy any new vehicle, including small vans, rather than just low-pollution models.
About £300 million has been put aside by the Government to fund the scheme, which is expected to come into effect as early as mid-May and will last until the grant runs out, thus enabling 300,000 consumers to benefit.
The AA immediately hailed the announcement, saying drivers would be pleased with a "generous scheme".
But car companies had been hoping that the Government would foot the entire £2,000-per-vehicle bill, while environmental groups had reckoned that those participating would be limited to choosing only "green" cars.
Only too aware of plunging new car sales and car plant shutdowns in recent months, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon had been pushing for the scheme to go ahead in the face of some opposition from the Treasury.
Today’s announcement smacks of compromise between the warring factions within Whitehall, with the scheme only costing the Government £300 million rather than the £580 million first envisaged.
AA president Edmund King said: "Drivers will be delighted that a generous scrappage scheme has been given the green light. The AA first raised this issue with Downing Street last September so are pleased that a scheme has finally been given the go-ahead.
"A £2,000 incentive from Government and manufacturers will help the economy, environment and employment. Cleaner, greener and safer cars will replace some of the older gross polluters. The pot of £300 million could benefit 300,000 drivers.
"In our AA/Populus poll of 17,481 drivers, 28% said that they would consider taking advantage of a Government incentive scheme to scrap older cars if one was available."
Mr King went on: "White Van Man will also benefit from the ’cash for clunkers’ scheme as it will cover vehicles up to 3.5 tons.
"Van mileage has grown much faster than car traffic over the last three years so there is a good case for replacing some of the dirtier vans with cleaner models. White Van Man is essential for the economy and is struggling in the current recession. A grant to bring newer shinier white vans onto the fleet would also help the environment, economy and employment."
Mr King added that he was pleased that the scheme had been kept relatively simple without any CO2 restrictions on the type of vehicle to be purchased.
He added: "If every 10-year-old vehicle were replaced with today’s equivalent we would see a 30% increase in fuel efficiency and almost 30% decrease in CO2 emissions.
"Today’s vehicles are almost twice as safe as 10-year-old vehicles. The consumer will welcome ’Darling’s deals for new wheels’."
13.02pm
12.58pm
Car scrappage scheme will be implemented next month to provide motorists with a £2,000 discount on new vehicles bought when they trade in cars over 10 years old. The scheme will end in March 2010.
12.55pm
Stamp duty holiday on properties sold for less than £175,000 extended until the end of the year. An extra £80 million is to be given to the HomeBuy Direct, the Government’s shared equity mortgage scheme.
The Chancellor is extending help allowing loss-making companies to reclaim taxes on profits made in the last three years to November 2010.
12.54pm
There will be £250 million this year and £400 million in 2010/11 for an additional 54,000 places in sixth forms and further education colleges, with consequential provisions for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
To increase mortgage lending, the Chancellor announced the introduction of a scheme to guarantee securities backed by mortgages
12.52pm
There will be additional support for people who have been out of work for 12 months. From January everyone under the age of 25 who has been jobless for 12 months will be offered a job or a place in training with additional money on top of benefits for those in training.
12.47pm
Inflation is expected to continue falling sharply, reaching 1% by the end of this year. The Bank of England inflation target remains unchanged at 2%.
RPI inflation is forecast to remain negative, falling to minus-3% by September, before moving back above zero next year.
12.46pm
Mr Darling said the crisis that started in the developed economies had spread to emerging and developing countries.
"For the first time since the Second World War, the world economy is expected to contract this year."
He said "considerable economic uncertainty" over the last few months had "fully justified the action we, and other countries, have taken to support business and people.
"Since the autumn, we have put the banks on a stronger footing, cleaning up their balance sheets, and helping boost bank lending.
"As a result, banks will be able to lend billions of pounds more this year and next, to homebuyers and businesses.
"Getting credit flowing again is the essential precondition to economic recovery."
12.43pm
Mr Darling predicted the economy would start growing again ``towards the end of the year.''
He continued: "I am also confident that, as the global economy recovers to double in size over the next 20 years, Britain can, and will be, a world leader.
"This Budget will help make sure we seize this opportunity."
He added: "As I told the House in November, we and other countries have been battling against a succession of shocks which have hit the world economy.
"At the end of 2007, problems in international mortgage markets began to put a damaging squeeze on credit."
He said the collapse of Lehman Brothers "shattered already fragile confidence and brought the international financial system to its knees.
"Since then, an extraordinary international financial crisis has fed into the wider economy, causing a steep and widespread world recession."
12.42pm
Chancellor Alistair Darling today promised a Budget to speed economic recovery by protecting jobs and spreading prosperity.
Opening his Budget speech, Mr Darling warned that Britain faced the most serious global economic turmoil for over 60 years.
But he said the Government would protect investment in schools, hospitals and other key public services, while rebuilding the financial services sector.
"Today’s Budget will continue to help people through this global recession and prepare Britain for the opportunities of the future."
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2 BUDGET Highlights
Mr Darling said the impact was being felt in every continent, country and community.
"When the world economy was plunged into deep crisis in the 1930s, the response, both nationally and internationally, was too little and too late.
"This failure to act turned a serious downturn into a prolonged depression.
"We will not repeat those mistakes again."
He said governments across the globe had taken "decisive action".
"This action, taken promptly and decisively, gives us good grounds for confidence."
He also said the Budget "builds on the substantial help for people and businesses in the Pre-Budget Report in November.
"It builds on the steps we have taken to recapitalise and restore confidence in our financial institutions.
"And it builds on the outcome of the G20 Summit in London this month, when the world’s leading economies came together to agree unprecedented co-ordinated action to speed global recovery."
12.37pm
CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Alistair Darling rose to deliver his second Budget statement to the House of Commons at 12.31pm today.
Mr Darling said the Budget would provide help to get people back into work quickly and support businesses and homeowners facing problems.
He also said there will be measures to support investment in the growth and green industries of the future and the Government will work to rebuild Britain’s financial services.
The Chancellor said the Government had a determination to invest and grow our way out of recession. He said: "Today’s Budget will take Britain through the most serious global economic turmoil for over 60 years."
The Chancellor expects the economy to start growing again towards the end of the year.
An extraordinary international financial crisis has fed into the wider economy, causing a steep and widespread world recession.
