Hold your nose: a £1.25bn subsidy for rich Rolls-Royce’s new engine had to happen

The chancellor’s budget giveaway is, unfortunately, a reflection of how life works in the global aerospace business

It wasn’t a “nothing” budget for engine-maker Rolls-Royce. The company was handed £1.25bn from public coffers to part-fund the development of a next-generation engine for single-aisle commercial planes.

The chancellor buried this giveaway in two short sentences in the stodgy middle of his speech, presumably because it would look too much like a case of corporate welfare just after he had grumbled about the £14bn extra we’ll be paying in debt interest this year.