London | Britain will ramp up its low company tax rate to 25 per cent and freeze income tax thresholds, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak tries to cap the country’s ballooning debt before he inevitably succumbs to a fresh spending binge for the 2024 election.

But the fiscal spigot remained on, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government dishing out another £1.65 billion ($2.95 billion) to its highly successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign, along with new funds to boost Britain’s vaccine development, testing and manufacturing capability.