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Up until the last few minutes of his third budget it was hard to distinguish Rishi Sunak from Gordon Brown in his pomp. The hour-long address was peppered with spending pledges on everything from schools to prisons, from theatre refurbishment to community football pitches.
Then, as the peroration approached, the real Sunak emerged as he launched into a statement of his belief in a Britain where taxes are lower and the state is smaller. The chancellor could hardly have been clearer: he intends to get taxes down before the next general election.