Osborne needs to make his case for growth

The Guardian have an odd story today. “Business chiefs who backed cuts now doubt UK growth,” runs the headline — suggesting that these sinners are now being confronted with the error of their own ideology. Who are the business chiefs? We have Archie Norman, the retired head of Asda, now part-time chairman of ITV. He “said the government’s growth targets were too optimistic”. Set aside the fact that the government doesn’t make growth targets now, and has subcontracted that the Office for Budget Responsibility. Where is the connection between growth downgrades and cuts? In the imagination of The Guardian, I suspect.

Next Andy Bond, another former head of Asda, is quoted as saying, “I don’t think the private sector is going to be able to pick up the slack in this climate.” Just what he meant is unclear, as The Guardian conveniently doesn’t mention the context or timeframe. But the next paragraph is triumphant:

“He [Bond] was one of 35 bosses who signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph six months ago supporting George Osborne’s plan to slash the deficit and arguing that businesses ‘should be more than capable of generating additional jobs to replace those lost in the public sector.’”