Chancellor George Osborne yesterday courted voters ahead of an election in 2015 with promises of help for savers, tax breaks for manufacturers and lower levies on beer and bingo.

In an upbeat annual Budget statement, Osborne announced upgrades to official forecasts for economic growth, although he stressed he would stick to his belt-tightening plans which include a cap on welfare spending.

His help to savers – who have been hurt by near-zero interest rates – included an easing of requirements on pensioners to buy annuities.

The government will also create savings accounts which will pay above-market interest rates to people aged over 65.

Shares in insurance firms fell on what Osborne called the “most far-reaching reform” to pensions in nearly 100 years. Legal & General stock closed more than eight percent lower.

The price of 30-year British government bonds suffered their biggest one-day drop in a month, as insurers who sell annuities are a major source of demand.

Shares in gambling firms also weakened on news of a new tax for the industry, even as Osborne cut a levy on bingo.

Britain goes to the polls in May 2015 and the annual budget plan is one of the government’s last opportunities to make a difference to how people feel about their finances before then. The Opposition Labour party said the budget failed to help ordinary people.

Osborne hopes the improving economy and his focus on fixing Britain’s public finances will be some of the trump cards in the fight against Labour, which remains a few percentage points ahead of the Conservatives in opinion polls.

“I have never shied away from telling the British people about the difficult decisions we face. And just because things are getting better, I don’t intend to do so today,” he said, adding more spending cuts would be needed after the election.

Osborne announced the latest in a series of increases in how much people can earn before paying income tax.