The UK Chancellor Gordon Brown has delivered the first Budget of Labour's second term. As expected the main headline was an increase in National Insurance to pay for increased NHS spending.
Click here to watch all the key moments of the budget speech and opposition reaction: 
56k
 Tony Blair says he is 100% confident the NHS will deliver |
Tony Blair says he is confident that raising more tax to pay for improvements to the NHS is the right thing to do. And he told the BBC Political Editor, Andrew Marr that pledges would be met including a maximum six month waiting time.
Click here to watch
 Brown and Blair: the hard sell |
On the day after the budget Gordon Brown and Tony Blair met health workers in London. Despite the cash boost for the NHS they still faced some tough questions.
The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
 Gordon Brown delivers his Budget |
The chancellor has set out his plans to raise National Insurance and boost funds for the NHS. But the Conservatives accused him of breaking election pledges on not raising taxes, and the Liberal Democrats said the measures were long overdue.
The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
 Nurses at a child's bedside |
Spending on the NHS is due to top �100 billion in five years' time. Many more doctors and nurses are needed to staff hospitals - so how long will it be before the increases in spending produce the desired results for patients?
The BBC's Niall Dickson reports.
 Who will be the winners and losers? |
Most people will be hit by a rise in National Insurance. Anyone earning more than �4,600 a year will pay more, and those without children will pay most heavily. What will the Budget mean for low, middle and high earners?
The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports.
 Every worker will contribute more to health services |
Businesses are calling the National Insurance increase a tax on jobs. The chancellor is being accused of giving with one hand and taking away with the other. The criticism comes despite a series of measures to help small businesses.
The BBC's Rory Cellan Jones reports.
 Paying less for your pint |
For once, the Budget is good news for drinkers, or at least those who favour real ale. Duty on beer produced by independent breweries will be halved in time for the World Cup.
The BBC's Ben McCarthy reports.
Adrian Chiles and the Working Lunch team are joined by specialist analysts who answered viewers' questions immediately after the budget speech.
Click here to watch the programme in full
Click below to watch the chancellor's autumn pre-Budget speech, in which he outlined his approach to this spring's Budget and set out his economic forecasts: 56k
Tuesday, 16 April, 2002, 13:38 GMT 14:38 UK 
E-mail this story to a friend
