Osborne goes on the offensive

Attack, attack, attack. That’s the temper of George Osborne’s article for the Guardian this morning, which sets about Labour’s economic credibility with a ferocious sort of glee. Perhaps the best passage is where he asks how many times Labour can spend their ubiquitous “bank tax,” but this is more pertinent to the recent debate:

“Where does all this leave Ed Miliband’s newfound enthusiasm for the “squeezed middle”? Let’s pass over his failure in every interview to define it – his last effort included around 90% of taxpayers. Where we can all agree is that these are difficult times for family incomes. There are two root causes. One is global: rises in food and commodity prices. The other is specific to the UK: the unwinding, through a 25% currency depreciation and an unavoidable fiscal consolidation, of economic imbalances built up under Labour. That is why the governor of the Bank of England has said that ‘the real consequences of this crisis are only now beginning to be felt’.