George Osborne told the House of Commons that his first budget was both unavoidable and progressive. In our studio to test those claims we have the Observer's business editor Ruth Sunderland and Guardian columnists Julian Glover and Seumas Milne.
The announcements included a hike in VAT to 20%, a levy on the balance sheets of banks and building societies and a big restructuring of welfare payments.
Jon Dennis reports from central London where shoppers responded to the tax rises.
We also hear from Matthew Elliott of the Taxpayers' Alliance and from Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Service union.
Meanwhile in Westminster, Michael White gauges reaction from Westminster with Conservative MPs Eleanor Laing, Natascha Engel and Daniel Kawczynski; Norman Baker from the Liberal Democrats, and Labour ministers John Denham, Steve McCabe and Gordon Marsden.
