Hunt’s budget is a big bang for the City, a damp squib for the country

A tired Tory party has resorted to yet more deregulation, after the 40-year failure of its first attempt

Thursday's budget proved to be a red letter day for the City of London. In the moments after Jeremy Hunt delivered his perfumed message to the Square Mile, shares in all the big players, from HSBC to Legal & General, climbed back to where they had been before September's disastrous mini-budget.

Bankers, fearing the worst for their bonuses in the days before the fifth financial statement of the year, could look forward to filling their savings accounts once again. Like energy bosses, the chiefs who guard the financial district feared a windfall tax and worse - the retention, post-Brexit, of EU regulations that prevent the insurance and fund management industry from indulging in reckless behaviour.