Look, I’m a union MP. I want the employment rights bill in full. But I am also a pragmatist. Unions sat round the table with business and ministers and hammered out a compromise which means protections from unfair dismissal come in from six months not two years and we get Royal Assent by Christmas

The commentators up in arms about the Budget really need to be honest about which alternative they’d prefer:

- Children being left in poverty?
- More govt borrowing?
- Austerity?
- Rate increases to income tax, NI or VAT?
- No fiscal headroom and low market confidence?
- No OBR?