Budget 2015: Everything you need to know from help-to-buy ISAs to beer duty cuts to Bitcoin

Budget coverage in full from The Independent

Chancellor George Osborne might have promised no gimmicks or giveaways in his Budget speech, but there were definitely a few vote-spinning policy ideas.

Osborne's new policies increased the personal allowance, which increases the amount you can earn each year without paying tax, and introduced a help-to-buy ISA, which should offer first time buyers a new incentive from autumn onwards.

There was an emphasis on a regional recovery, with four new business regions that can keep 100 per cent of local business rates from shops and restaurants. New rail links between the South West and London should also ease the journey for some commuters.

Plus a three-year-running cut to beer duty – a sure vote winner - but no bingo tax cut, after last year’s furore. The only mention of bingo was on The Independent’s buzzword game.

The headlines
Osborne says Britain can 'walk tall again'
Chancellor throws the kitchen sink at Ed Miliband
Chancellor George Osborne's speech in full
Osborne’s three Budget jokes that cost the taxpayer £41 million
Chester - a Roman city at the centre of a struggle for power
French don’t fall for an uninspired jobs statistic
Lib Dems trumpet the alternatives inside their yellow ‘budget box’

Analysis
Has Osborne stolen money for tuition fee cut?
What it means for you: The key points explained
Budget 2015: Osborne’s winners and losers
Austerity eased, but by less than many seem to think
Spending cuts: This chart shows the worst is still to come
Cameron's kitchen stink could backfire on him

Comment
Time is running out for Osborne
What George Osborne really meant in his Budget speech
Osborne didn’t try to fix what isn’t broken
The politics were about more than just Ed Miliband
Britain is not walking quite as tall as the Chancellor claims
Editorial: Chancellor capitalises on the good news
Osborne’s avowed return to 2000 spending levels lets Labour in
4 reasons why I don't care about The Budget and won't be voting

Business and banking
Sale of Lloyds shares will raise billions
Devolution: Four regions to keep business rates
Small businesses: Companies welcome cocktail of tax cuts
Bitcoin: Government to regulate cryptocurrency
Charities to benefit from £75m rate-rigging fines

Healthcare
Cheers for Miliband as he seizes on ‘glaring omission’ of the NHS
NHS: 'Glaring ommission' in Osborne's 59-minute speech

Housing
Osborne promises first-time buyers 25% top-up
Cutting red tape will create 400,000 homes
'Help to buy Isa' threatens further house price rises

Drink
Beer duty: Brewers welcome a 'penny off a pint'
Whisky tax reduction welcomed in Scotland

Transport
Upgrades to rail links in South West

Technology
Next-generation tech receives £500m
Up to £8 million pledged to UK video game industry

The environment
Struggling oil industry is thrown a £1.3bn lifeline in tax cuts
UK to create the world’s largest marine reserve

Taxes and pensions
Door closed on popular loophole to avoid inheritance bill
Higher tax threshold rises above inflation
Tax break hope for local newspapers
Freedoms for pensioners come with ‘cap on aspiration’