Personal Finance Editor Andrew Ellson (AE) and award-winning Economics Reporter Gabriel Rozenberg (GR) provide views on the news as Chancellor Alistair Darling unveils his maiden Autumn Budget speech.

GR 15:25 Welcome to our live-blogging of the Comprehensive Spending Review and Pre-Budget Report, brought to you from the heart of The Times's newsroom. Five minutes to go until Alistair Darling makes his first major speech to Parliament as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

GR 15:31 Darling starts with the excuses - a more "fragile environment" and global problems in the economy. He will respond with "stability and a strong economy". Jeers from the Commons.

GR 15:33 Growth of 3 per cent this year - "Britain the fastest growing major advanced economy in the world", says Darling. He's talking more slowly than Brown did, who used to rattle through the figures at 100mph.

GR 15:35 Now the first big admission - a larger downgrade of growth than expected. In 2008, growth of just 2 - 2.5 per cent. That's in line with City forecasts. But Darling says growth will return to trend in 2009 and 2010.

AE 15.36: Public debt in the UK maybe lower than the Eurozone and Japan but much public spending commitments through Public Private Partnerships are kept off the Treasury's books.

GR 15:35 Now the first big admission - a larger downgrade of growth than expected. In 2008, growth of just 2 - 2.5 per cent. That's in line with City forecasts. But Darling says growth will return to trend in 2009 and 2010.

GR 15:42 Darling can skip through the numbers quickly though when they're bad news. He's just added £11 billion of debt to the books over the next two years, by my maths - a deficit on the current budget of £8 billion in 07/08, rather than a deficit of £4 billion announced in March, and announced tht a £3 billion surplus next year will actually be a £4 billion deficit. He said "minus four billion" very quickly. A £6 billion surplus planned for the following year has been downgraded to £3 billion. This extra cash will have come in handy to allocate a bit more resources to the departments than expected.

GR 15:46 Gary Duncan, our Economics Editor says that Darling has confirmed growth in state spending of 2 per cent year on year in real terms over the next three years - slower than the growth of the economy.

AE: 15.45: This reduction in corporation tax to 28p was announced in the Budget last year.

AE 15.46: Nobody, even the Treasury, knows for sure how much overseas income non-domiciled residents make becasue they do not have to declare it on their tax returns. The de-bunking of the Tories proposals to chargte a levy of £25,000 is political not economic.

AE 15.49: Labour has been reviewing the tax status of non-domiciled residents since 2003 and yet they have still not come up with any firm proposals.

GR 15:51 Darling calls for a new levy on flights - Tories go wild as they think he has stolen their policy of taxing "planes not passengers".

GR 15:56 Planning reforms to increase housebuilding levels to 240,000 by 2016 from 185,000 - a reannouncement - and £4 billion to renovate homes over the next three years.

AE 15.55: The problem with encouraging long-term fixed-rate loans is that they are just not popular with the public. Unless the Government is going to subsidise rates, which is out of the question, most people will prefer to fix over two and five years, which offers more flexibility.

GR 15:59 The other problem with encouraging more fixed-rate borrowing is that it in theory would clog up the monetary transmission mechanism by which higher rates slow the economy. All other things being equal, that should lead to more volatile rates and more problems for everyone.

GR 16:00 Well, we expected it after last week: Darling has raised the inheritance tax threshold for couples from £300K now to £600K and then £700K in three years' time. But he says that raising it to £1 million - the Conservatives' plan - would mean £2 billion less for schools and hospitals.

GR 16:03 Darling is trying to have it both ways. He's raising the inheritance tax threshold because that plays well in the marginal seats. But he's not matching the Tory plans and is making a virtue out of refusing to cut tax for the very rich.

GR 16:04 And after just 34 minutes, he's sat down - a very short speech indeed. Osborne's comment: "I don't know why he bothered to turn up." We hope you're grateful that Andrew and I turned up this afternoon and we'd like to thank you for joining us.

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