George Osborne’s ambition deficit

When George Osborne first became Chancellor, he asked to be judged on his ability to reduce the deficit. He does not make that request any more. This year’s deficit is almost three times higher than the £37 billion he originally planned, but he understandably glossed over this point when delivering his Autumn Statement. He has other interests now: pension reform, building motorways, or spending more on GPs. The mission to balance the books has been delayed until the end of the decade — or, perhaps, the start of the next.

He said this week that his extra spending was made possible by ‘the hard decisions that we have taken’. This can only mean the hard decision to abandon his deficit target and give himself eight long years to reduce state spending by a grand total of 4 per cent. The global crash in interest rates has made this lax timetable possible — Osborne can now borrow at just 2 per cent, less than half the rate he expected.