Hammond sidelined by Brexit as he holds out for 'deal dividend' | Larry Elliott

Sandwiched between Brexit votes, the chancellor's spring statement was pretty low key

One of Philip Hammond's early decisions was to make his spring statement play second fiddle to the Treasury's main event of the year, the autumn budget.

Even the chancellor could not have expected his half-yearly update on the state of the economy to be as low key as it actually turned out to be, though. For the time being, all that really matters in UK politics is Brexit. There has been little or no appetite for the usual speculation about the tax or spending surprises the chancellor might announce.