Politics: Recovery begins at home

There’s a pattern emerging to George Osborne’s autumn. He gives a big domestic set piece speech on growth and then immediately leaves the country for a meeting of European finance ministers. It is what he did straight after his conference speech last month and what he will do after the growth review on 29 November. It is a reminder that the fate of the British economy is uncomfortably linked to the fortunes of the floundering eurozone.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have never been more worried about the economic outlook than they are now. One Downing Street aide remarks: ‘it is not quite sleepless nights territory. But it is bloody serious.’ Fears of a chaotic break-up of the euro have been heightened by the events of the past few days. There are concerns that the new governments in Greece and Italy will not be able to deliver on their austerity programmes and that the Germans still have no intention of letting the European Central Bank act as a lender of last resort.