Chris Mason: Budget felt cautious despite its range of small measures

Chancellor John Healey presented a Budget on Wednesday containing 98 measures, more than usual and more than in Rachel Reeves’s previous budgets. Chris Mason says that despite their range, nearly all have a limited impact on the Treasury’s finances, making the Budget modest overall in tax and spending terms. The government is seeking revenue by raising taxes on savers, landlords and banks after pledging not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. These choices could provoke noisy opposition from affected groups, as Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax changes did among farmers.