Chancellor has been appearing on TV and radio defending her budget

As Julia Kollewe reports on the business live blog, the IMF has praised the budget. An IMF spokesperson said:

We support the envisaged reduction in the deficit over the medium term, including by sustainably raising revenue.

I said that [the national insurance increase] will have consequences.

It will mean that businesses will have to absorb some of this through profits and it is likely to mean that wage increases might be slightly less than they otherwise would have been.