Mr Cameron has already guaranteed that Mr Osborne would be made Chancellor if the Tories win the next election, but he said that the two men have regularly discussed the possibility of moving the shadow Chancellor to another, more low-profile post. The Conservative leader also signalled that he expected his old friend, whom he praised as a “big man”, to go quietly if he was dismissed.
Read more on I would sack Osborne if I had to, says Cameron…
Author: By Andrew Grice
Sir Alan Budd, who would head a new independent Office of Budget Responsibility to enforce financial discipline under a Tory government, will say: “If you go too quickly then there is a risk that the recovery will be snuffed out and we will go back into a recession. I mean what the Americans say, ‘Remember 1937′.”
Read more on Tories’ economist criticises party’s plan for cuts…
Author: By Jon Smith, Press Association
He said the massive borrowing had to be tackled to avert the risk of the
country “tipping back into recession” and was threatening
investment, confidence and growth.
This is not to make a judgement about the economic policies of Labour or the Conservatives, but it is a plain fact that the markets have been more inclined to dump sterling when Mr Brown’s chances of re-election have seemed higher. Yesterday’s sell-off, prompted by a further recovery in Labour’s opinion poll rating, partly reflected the markets’ fears of the uncertainties that a hung parliament might bring, but was also a continuation of the trend of recent months, which has seen sterling’s fortunes rise and fall broadly in line with those of the Tories.
Read more on David Prosser: The Tory-Labour divide is a political, not economic, one…
Author: By Sean O’Grady, Economics Editor
That means the yield would drop below £1bn ? compared to £3.9bn taken in inheritance tax in 2007 ? raising questions about where the Conservatives might make up the shortfall as they seek to tame the budget deficit run up by New Labour.
Author: By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
On Wednesday, Gordon Brown answered Tory claims he was ?at war? with his
Chancellor by saying he would much rather defend Mr Darling than be in David
Cameron?s position of having to defend Mr Osborne. But the survey suggests
that the shadow Chancellor is in the stronger position in the business
community as the general election approaches.
Read more on Osborne finds favour in business poll as Darling’s credibility sinks…
Author: By Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor
The shadow Chancellor will also signal that the Conservatives are to put the huge scale of the national debt ? forecast to reach £178bn this financial year ? at the heart of their election campaign.
Read more on Brown is the Prime Minister of negative growth, says Osborne…
Author: By Joe Churcher, PA
The shadow chancellor said his “people’s bank bonus” would reward taxpayers
for the £850 billion ploughed by the Government into propping up crisis-hit
financial institutions.
During the financial crisis, the Government nationalised Northern Rock and
took stakes in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group in
return for bailing them out.
Read more on Tories to sell cut-price shares in state-owned banks…
Author: By Joe Churcher, PA
Shadow chancellor George Osborne hailed the policy as the biggest shift of
power to workers since Margaret Thatcher introduced the right to buy council
houses in the 1980s.
Author: By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
The Independent’s latest monthly “poll of polls” shows that Labour has cut the Tory lead to single figures in the past month and suggests that Britain is heading for a hung parliament.
