The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 26 November 2011

issue 26 November 2011

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David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said: ‘Getting debt under control is proving harder than anyone envisaged.’ In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry he blamed in part ‘paralysis in the eurozone’. His words came a week before the Chancellor was due to make his autumn statement, and the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish projections for the public deficit, which looked most unlikely to be expunged by the end of this parliament. Mr Cameron had earlier held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and was thought to have discussed a ‘narrow’ amendment to the Lisbon Treaty that would not be subject to a referendum in Britain. Hospital patients are being subjected to a bedside video of Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, telling them: ‘Your care while you’re here in hospital really matters to me.’

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The government sold the ‘good’ bit of Northern Rock to Virgin Money for £747 million, a loss compared with its purchase price of between £400 million and £650 million.

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