Dont have to accept the status quo. If you make difficult decisions , if you stick to our decisions, if you stick to our plan for the economy, thats seen inflation falling and growth starting to rise, we can bnng growth starting to rise, we can bring down the tax burden. Sir keir starmer, though, says that the conservatives are giving with one hand and taking with the other, and that , unlike with the other, and that, unlike the government, he says labours policies are fully funded. Policies are fully funded. Contrast that with the government, where yesterday, at the end of the budget, the chancellor made a staggering £46 billion unfunded commitment to aboush billion unfunded commitment to abolish National Insurance. Thats bigger than liz trusss commitment. So theyve learned absolutely nothing. We need absolutely nothing. We need change. Its time for change. Well, weve heard tonight that the uk has pledged a further £125 million of military support to ukraine in another major move against putins invasion. Earlier, our home and security editor , mark White Security editor, mark white joined me with more on what that announcement tonight will mean for ukraines war efforts. This extra package , announced this extra package, announced by grant shapps on a visit to ukraine is very significant. Hundreds of pounds and millions of pounds in extra commitment from the uk to provide 10,000 military drones. Now the vast majority will be first person view drones, fpv drones , which view drones, fpv drones, which can loiter over the battle space and drop their munitions on russian tanks and artillery. But it will also provide a thousand new one way attack drones. In new one way attack drones. In addition to that more maritime attack drones mark white there are home and security editor speaking earlier. Well, that news comes as sweden has today officially joined nato, marking a historic moment for the nation and the military alliance. The move, in response to russias invasion of ukraine strengthens natos defences , and its also a defences, and its also a significant shift for sweden, ending its long standing policy of military neutrality. Russia, though, has threatened retaliation with unspecified countermeasures. And as we heard countermeasures. And as we heard from nigel at the top of the program in the United States tonight, President Biden is preparing to deliver his state of the union speech. Its reported he will use his fourth address to highlight the difference between his leadership style and that of his likely opponent, donald trump. Likely opponent, donald trump. Hes also expected to announce an Emergency Mission , we an Emergency Mission, we understand, to build a temporary port on the gaza coast so that humanitarian aid can be shipped into the region. For the latest into the region. For the latest stories, you can sign up to gb news alerts. Just scan the qr code there on your screen or go to gb news. Com alerts. Well, as ever, its after the lord mayors show. The chancellor yesterday making a lot of claims in his budget speech. Now time for speech. But now its time for a little bit of dissection. And one of the claims he made yesterday, i thought, to be honest with you, i thought it was me speaking when he said this. This. If want that growth to if we want that growth to lead to higher wages and higher Living Standards for every family in every corner of the country, it cannot come from unlimited migration. It can only come by building a high wage, high skill economy, not just higher gdp, but higher gdp per head. Yes, chancellor. Ive been saying that for 20 years. But now, because its election year, of course you are saying to everybody, i understand what the problem is, but today, being interviewed by gb news Political Editor chris hope, he didnt seem quite so sure on immigration, you said three times that growth cannot come from unlimited migration , but from unlimited migration, but the obr, as you know, has increased net migration forecasts to 315,000, up by about a third. Youre relying on more so youre relying on more migration to grow your economy. When you say you cant rely on it. No. We have had a big increase in migration in recent years because of ukraine, because of afghanistan, because of hong kong, very specific factors where as a country we did the right thing. But the current levels of migration are not sustainable. This government wants to bring it down. Its currently, as you know, over 700,000 far too high. The governments brought in some very clear policies to bring those numbers down. The obr make an estimate of where that will get to based on what the office for National Statistics say , for National Statistics say, its a small increase on the numbers. The ons previously said. What im saying is weve got to change that. Got to change that. That just isnt good enough. Theyve promised in every manifesto since 2010 to bring net migration down to tens of thousands. They promised it in 2010, 2015, 2017 and in 2019, they said they would get immigration under control. Him now to sit there and say its unsustainable. Well, the office unsustainable. Well, the office of budget responsibility, upon whom he seems to rely so much, say that for his numbers to work , were going to need net migration at 315,000 people. Net every single year. And he can tell you he can talk about afghanistan. He can talk about afghanistan, ukraine, hong kong. Even if you take those numbers out , net even if you take those numbers out, net migration is still running at historic highs in this country. And so the question i want to put to you is, do you believe anything that jeremy hunt says farage at gb news. Com im joined by gb news economics and Business Editor liam halligan. Liam the funny things budgets, arent they . Because you know what gets said in the hour and six minutes as it was. And then the small print the analysis time to think it through. If this was designed to through. If this was designed to be the big tax cutting budget, the agenda changing budget, i mean, i would argue it seems to have bombed budgets. Theyre like a window onto the soul of the politician or the soul of the politician or the senior politicians controlling them. And this very controlling them. And this very much is a double act. Obviously, the Prime Minister was recently the Prime Minister was recently the chancellor, and this is very much a number 10 and number 11 efforts. This was by no means a pre election budget. It was lacking in definition. It was lacking in definition. It was lacking in definition. It was lacking in courage. I would say lacking in courage. I would say it strikes me that jeremy hunt is a very low key politician who should really have gone into bat against the obr and pushed back for what he believes in, but i think hes delivered a budget thats very, very cautious in order to mollify this group of whitehall based economists, faceless bureaucrats, of course, Civil Servants should have some role to play. Of course they should offer up forecasts which the politicians look at. And of course, youve got to rein in political excess. Yes, but it political excess. Yes, but it strikes me that the tory partys fate is now in the hands of both the office for budget responsibility and the Monetary Policy of the bank of england, because they need tax cuts, they need Interest Rate cuts. Are they going to happen . But theyve allowed it. And made very you know, and you made a very you know, a of interesting points a couple of interesting points there that it lacks definition and maybe and lacks courage. But maybe that government. That sums up this government. I think does. Think it does. Was as if the it was almost as if the chancellor was signalling to his tribe, still conservative. Tribe, im still a conservative. Im a conservative. I do im still a conservative. I do want to get rid of National Insurance. I do want taxes to come but even if you take come down. But even if you take into know , into account, you know, admittedly the quite eye catching now £0. 04 reduction in the headline rate of National Insurance from 12 to 10 and now 10 to 8, the 12 to 10 came in in january. The 10 to 8 will come in from april. The overall tax burden because of fiscal drag, because of the thresholds being frozen where they are is still going up. Were still heading for the highest tax burden in 70 years. This is the point this fiscal drag in terms of we say that, you know, that the levels at which we start paying different rates of tax arent going up, but alcohol duties. But also theres alcohol duties. They go up yesterday. They didnt go up yesterday. Hardly a victory for the pubs. I would suggest if a tax doesnt go would suggest if a tax doesnt 9 up would suggest if a tax doesnt go up its hardly a boost. But were paying more on alcohol, more on tobacco, more on car tax, more on council tax. And yet liam , despite what you said yet liam, despite what you said a moment ago, hunt said brazenly to the commons of the country that if youre a median earner, youre now paying less tax than youre now paying less tax than you were since 1975. Its just not true, is it . Im not. I cant stand up that figure. Ive been trying to stand up. What can ive been trying to stand up that figure, we say stand up that figure, as we say in journalism, there has in journalism, look, there has been of a tax cut for, been a bit of a tax cut for, average earners because of this National Insurance reduction. And its about £950. But in the round with fiscal drag , and its about £950. But in the round with fiscal drag, as you said, with those thresholds frozen all the way until 2028, the overall tax that theyre paying the overall tax that theyre paying has gone up a great deal. Thatis paying has gone up a great deal. That is the problem. People arent feeling better about life. You know, its the famous Ronald Reagan question. Do you feel better than four years ago . Is your family better off than four years ago . And theyre not another , move that i thought was another, move that i thought was pretty retrograde. If you want to get growth moving, and was very much a kind of playing to the progressive gallery rather than what ordinary people think and feel was to extend the windfall tax on north sea oil and gas in scotland. You know, these companies in the north sea, theyre not Big Oil Majors with profits from all over the world. Theyre often small british companies, heavily indebted. I know you know this sector very well. As a former Energy Trader yourself, and we the idea that youre going to get an extra £15 billion from extending a 75 tax on the profits of north sea, its not going to happen because a lot of projects will just closed down because theyre completely unviable. And this is the problem. The chancellor is problem. The chancellor is trying money raising trying to get money by raising extra taxes , without extra taxes, without understanding that those higher extra taxes, without underwillding that those higher extra taxes, without underwillding twhatiose higher extra taxes, without underwillding twhat wee higher extra taxes, without underwillding twhat we callher taxes will have what we call behavioural effects, they will affect act and affect the way people act and lead to less money. Going into the treasurys coffers could this have been a pre election labour budget, i think it certainly smells , if you like, certainly smells, if you like, like a labour budget, it has the shape and definition of a labour budget. And indeed, you know, he pinched quite a lot of labours clothes. His move on non domicile taxation was very much a labour policy, wasnt it. Its almost as if hes trying to shoot labours foxes. Look, well, ordinary people want is they want to keep more of their own money so they can spend it on themselves and their family and make choices, and they dont mind paying more taxes as long as the Public Services are decent. And weve got this really awful combination the really awful combination at the moment moment, and a lot moment, at the moment, and a lot of is because the long of it is because the long hangover from lockdown, when you borrow £400 billion basically in a year , the trajectory of your a year, the trajectory of your pubuc a year, the trajectory of your public finances isnt going to be the same for a long time. So weve got this combination of very high taxation , one of very high taxation, one of crumbling Public Services , not crumbling Public Services, not least because theres an awful lot of people now demanding the use of those Public Services. To go back to what you were saying before, and weve got a situation where theres almost no growth. Its very hard for an no growth. Its very hard for an economy to grow when taxation is so and without growth, so high and without growth, politics so much more politics begets so much more difficult because the pie is smaller and the arguments are more vicious. More vicious. Well, cutting spending is hard. Cutting public spending is hard. Cutting public spending is hard. It was once said to me hard. It was once said to me that, you know, with public spending giving spending is like giving a dog a bone. Its to bone. Thats right. Its easy to give but jolly hard, give it, but its jolly hard, thats to it back. Thats right, to get it back. And that makes sense to grow and that makes sense to me. Grow your grow your way your way so you grow your way out. Thats right. And even mrs. Thatcher cut spending, thatcher didnt cut spending, particularly 40 years ago. We grew hunt yesterday grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talked endlessly growth. Grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talkwe endlessly growth. Grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talkwe indlessly growth. Grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talkwe in aassly growth. Grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talkwe in a recession growth. Grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talkwe in a recession or|rowth. Grew our way out. Hunt yesterday talkwe in a recession or not . 1. Are we in a recession or not . We were officially in a recession in the sense that two consecutive quarters of negative gdp growth that happened between june and december last year. Fact we now know that because the gdp numbers have come out, theres a very slight chance they could be revised upwards. They were the preliminary numbers for the final quarter. But bar the shouting, the economy got smaller for the second half of last year. I dont think were now in a recession, nigel, to give the chancellor , the fact chancellor his due, the fact that Interest Rates are set to come the fact that come down, the fact that inflation has come down, you look the survey data of look at the survey data of business sentiment, investment flows. I do think were growing. Flows. I do think were growing. I think we grew in january and i think we grew in february as well. But its marginal. Its very, very marginal. Theres no great bounce back from lockdown. Great bounce back from lockdown. We havent really had nigel a big bounce back from the Global Financial crisis of ten. Financial crisis of 2009 ten. Our economy has been flatlining now for over a decade , and now for over a decade, and thats a problem. And i one of the reasons for that, in my view , is the lack of tax incentives to get business going, to get investments moving the red tape thats been piled on small businesses, who are the real engine of our economy, and none of them got anything from the budget. Yesterday at all. White van man said, dont tell me im better because fuel duty has better off because fuel duty has been frozen public. And been frozen a public. And i spoke this morning said spoke to you this morning said much thing. Much the same thing. Increase in vat tiny increase in the vat threshold 5000. The first increase in seven years. That vat threshold and also i think he should have been bold. The obr wouldnt let him do it, but i think he should have pushed back anyway, raise the personal allowance, nigel, from 12. 5 grand take 3 or 4 grand to 20 grand. Take 3 or 4 Million People out of tax altogether. Get rid of the altogether. Get rid of the incentives that mean a lot of brits. It makes more sense for them not to work. Weve got to tackle these benefit traps. I think you were right when you mentioned the courage word a moment ago. It doesnt seem to be much it about liam. Thank be much of it about liam. Thank you very indeed. Now, one you very much indeed. Now, one of that drove me of the things that drove me absolutely yesterday was absolutely potty yesterday was the of that the opening paragraph of that speech, when he talked about building a muslim memorial, and i made the point, and i was even filmed , wasnt i . Yesterday up filmed, wasnt i . Yesterday up there in whitehaven with some commonwealth war graves, to say equality and death actually was the principle established 100 years by who years ago by men who were cleverer and better and more principled than today. But christopher hope, our political edhon christopher hope, our Political Editor, asked jeremy hunt about it today. Heres what he had to say. Good proposal. I also, by the good proposal. I also, by the way, remembered, the sufferings and worries of people of the jewish faith in my autumn statement. So a very good statement. So a very good proposal was made to me by sajid javid. Yes. Who is a colleague and a friend. And i decided id have merit. Have merit. And the way you framed it, you framed the by saying you framed the answer by saying we extremism and you framed the answer by saying we divisions. Extremism and you framed the answer by saying we divisions. Afterremism and you framed the answer by saying we divisions. Afterremiloss|nd heal divisions. After the loss of life in israel and gaza. Will that memorial do that . That memorial do that . I believe it will, because i think it shows what unites us. Just as the funding that i gave to the Holocaust Education trust after the autumn statement did it, it reminds us that on many things , whether its the things, whether its the holocaust, whether its the sacrifices made in the world wars for our freedom, we stand togeth