Budget 2017: Hammond to tell us the Brexit vote could have been worse

Chancellor will say UK economy is in far better shape than forecast. What he won't say is inflation rates rise faster for the poor

When Philip Hammond stands up to give his budget on Wednesday, this is what you are likely to hear: economic growth has been, and will be, stronger than expected after the Brexit vote. Defying all the doomsayers who said a vote to leave could prompt a recession, consumers carried on spending and businesses continued to expand.

The picture for the public finances is also looking rosier compared with Hammond's maiden autumn statement in November. Back then, the fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), overhauled its forecasts to show that the impact of the Brexit vote on the economy would force the government to borrow 122bn more than hoped over coming years. Less than four months on, healthy tax receipts mean the government has not borrowed as much as previously feared to fund its spending over this financial year.

Related: The budget 2017: seven things that we already know will happen "

Related: Philip Hammond vows UK will fight back if it gets bad Brexit deal