Chancellor could still win the election for the Tories if he can make it all about deficit reduction and not whether living standards have risen in this parliament
The red box. The rabbits pulled from the hat. The rituals of budget day. This week is all about George Osborne. But that’s been true of the government right from the start.
The story of the first coalition government in Britain since the second world war is the story of austerity and thwarted deficit reduction plans. It is the story of a delayed economic recovery. It is the story of falling unemployment but dismal productivity. Above all, it is the story of a squeeze on living standards unprecedented in modern times. When the historians come to assess the past five years, they will single out the politician that really counted during this period. It will not be David Cameron.
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