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The Lords passed two amendments to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, voting by 358 to 256 to guarantee the residence rights after Brexit of EU nationals living in Britain, then by 366 to 268 to give Parliament ‘a meaningful vote’ on the final Brexit deal. Lord Heseltine was sacked as an adviser to the government for voting for the latter amendment. Jeremy Corbyn published details of his tax return, which showed a total income of £114,342 but proved puzzling because, according to the Labour party, the £27,192 received for his first seven months as leader of the opposition was included under pension and benefits income. Professor Stephen Hawking, the well-known physicist, said, ‘I regard Corbyn as a disaster,’ adding, ‘I think he should step down for the sake of the party.’ Transport for London set about building 400 houses in Greenwich in the hope of making more than £1 billion. The annual rate of house-price inflation fell to 5.1 per cent, against 10 per cent a year earlier.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, presented the Budget in possession of higher than expected tax receipts. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast of growth this year, he said, had been revised from 1.4 to 2 per cent. He said the Budget provided a ‘strong, stable platform for Brexit’. National Insurance would go up for the self-employed. There was some business-rate relief for enterprises (specifically 90 per cent of pubs) hit by rises and £2 billion over three years for social care. He drew attention to new T-levels for technical education and funding for 110 new free schools. GP triage at A&E departments would get £100 million this winter.
Elections in Northern Ireland left the Democratic Unionists with 28 seats and Sinn Fein with 27, the SDLP with 12 and the Ulster Unionists with ten.
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