Wednesday briefing: What’s in Hunt’s spring budget – and how will he pay for it?

In today's newsletter: As the chancellor presents a plan aimed at satisfying the Tory faithful, we look at what he will do and what it will mean for you

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Good morning, and strap on your Homer Simpson secret nap spectacles: it's budget day. Coming into this one, the big question about Jeremy Hunt is this: is he, as friends of his recently told the FT, realistic enough to know he is unlikely to be chancellor this time next year" - or does he think that his decisions today can give the Conservatives a serious chance of winning the election? Does he want to bolster his economic legacy - or give his many vulnerable backbenchers something to tell voters about?

The truth is likely to be somewhere in the middle: tax cuts to satisfy the Tory faithful, with just enough cover on affordability to keep fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) happy. Today's newsletter is a simple guide to what that means: what the chancellor will do, the dubious sums that will help him afford it, and what it'll mean for you. Here are the headlines.

US politics | Joe Biden and Donald Trump cruised to easy victories on Super Tuesday, as both men piled up delegates on their way to their parties' nominations for the presidency. While Nikki Haley did win the Republican primary in Vermont, that was her only success against Trump, and she came under renewed pressure to drop out of the race.

Birmingham | Councillors in Birmingham have approved what are thought to be the biggest budget cuts in local authority history. 600 council jobs are under threat, with libraries closed, bin collections reduced, street lights dimmed, and arts grants scrapped. The council also approved a 10% council tax increase for the upcoming financial year.

Israel-Gaza war | Negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war appear to have stalled, days before an unofficial deadline of the beginning of Ramadan. Israel did not send a delegation to the second day of talks in Cairo as hoped, demanding that Hamas present a list of hostages who would be the first to be released.

UK politics | Michelle Donelan, the science minister, has apologised and paid damages after accusing two academics of sharing extremist views" and one of them of supporting Hamas. Donelan - whose department covered the damages and legal expenses - had faced a libel action after her allegations led to the two academics' suspension from roles at Research England.

Monarchy | The army has removed a claim on its website that the Princess of Wales will attend an event in June, after apparently publishing the information without approval from Kensington Palace. Catherine has been recovering from abdominal surgery for the past seven weeks, with no date yet given for her return to public duties.