IT was a case of polar opposites.

While the House of Commons descended into a pantomime of derisive caterwauling, the North-East business community remained calm, quiet and attentive.

There may not have been rousing support for Chancellor George Osborne's aspiration nation speech, but regional business leaders, gathered at Budget Live!, in Middlesbrough, did raise a tentative glass to some of the plans from the man who took a penny off a pint of beer.

The Chancellor's plans to cut corporation tax to 20 per cent by 2015 and reduce National Insurance bills for every firm by £2,000 were welcomed, as was his announcement to create 600,000 more jobs, set up a £130bn mortgage lending fund and pump an extra £15bn into new road, rail and construction projects by 2020.

The timing of the latter was particularly pertinent; it comes just days before Lord Andrew Adonis publishes his review which will call for improved North-East's transport links to boost the economy.

The talk at the event before Mr Osborne unveiled the contents of his little red briefcase highlighted the need to support the construction industry and get businesses looking at apprentices.

Afterwards, Sarah Green, director of employers' organisation CBI North-East, said Mr Osborne had delivered policies which could offer a platform for North-East business and its economy to grow.

Ms Green, who was joined on an expert panel by Sunday Times economic editor, David Smith, said: “He painted a particularly challenging picture of the economy, but there were some important announcements that should give businesses confidence.

“We have been calling for the cut in corporation tax for a long time, and it is good news for inward investment and make the UK a good place for companies to invest.

“The National Insurance cuts are also good for smaller businesses and I hope it will create more jobs in the North-East, which are needed.

“We called for investment in housing and the measures that have been brought in give support to people getting a mortgage or becoming a first-time buyers.”

Mr Smith, was joined by Alistair Thomson, chairman of the North-East Institute of Directors and dean of Teesside University Business School, and Stephen Catchpole, managing director of local enterprise partnership Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), at the event, which was organised by TVU and Recognition PR.

He said: “We knew the corporation tax was coming, but it is quite a positive sign when it comes to inward investment, and the Help to Buy scheme will get more house building going and build confidence.

“It was a Budget that could be seen as an old-fashioned pre-election plan.”