Budget dilemma: can the chancellor ‘spray around the sweeties’?

Theresa May's pledge to end austerity has put Philip Hammond on the spot. But even with billions in extra tax receipts, caution will be his watchword

It may not have been hugely noticeable, but Philip Hammond was making an effort to be more upbeat at this year's Tory conference. Attacks on him as the "Eeyore chancellor" for his gloomy Brexit outlook had convinced his team that he needed a note of positivity - so he began talking up the "Brexit deal dividend" that would come when a good agreement was reached with the EU.

Yet even during chats with MPs at the febrile event in Birmingham, colleagues were left in no doubt about his priorities. He was clear that whatever the potential gains in the future, now was not the time for a spending splurge. Brexit made everything far too unpredictable.

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