[QUOTE=Kizzy;7644906]Define 'balanced the books'.....
[/QUOT
Into 2013 as well Kizzy.
This is the Chancellor and govt; that said the deficit had to be cleared by 2015 or that would be a disaster for the UK.
If things were really as 'rosy' as they would have us believe, then there would be no need for savage further austerity measures.
Also the growth in place at present and the long awaited for recovery we have been waiting for over the first near 4 years of this govt; would have fed down to those at the lowest end of the scale of things.
None of which has happened.
The growth we now have and the recovery is welcome, it is however still a case of playing catch up on the near negative period between late 2010 and up to early 2014.
The deficit is only half cleared, a massive failure of this govt; and it is only half cleared because they have altered the way the deficit is now measured as to the economy.
In fact from what it stood at, and how it was measured in 2010, there is still only a third off it likely.
Despite all this sudden good news, this govt; is having the audacity to come into the 2015 election promising as it did in 2010 to clear the deficit in 3 to 4 years, planning even more severe austerity measures too,so in fact asking for the same time to do exactly the same things again after failing the last 5 years to do so.
That amounts to massive failure in my book and the only thing annoying me with Labour is that instead of shying away from the economy, they should be pointing all that out,because it does amount to failure on this govts; part on a huge scale.
I also think a suspicion could be right to take,that this rosy picture could fall away after the election and as in 2010, this govt; have to start downgrading its optimistic predicitions,as it did almost every quarter from 2010 to late 2013.
Far from trusting these again with the economy, I wouldn't trust their predictions at all,they and the independent economists too, all had to downgrade their predictions for the economy over the last 4 and half years.
Add in to that, the one true fact is that the vast majority of people in the UK will, despite this so called wondeful news now, be worse off, and some extremely so, than they actaully were in 2010.
No matter what this budget offers, that is a fact that will remain far beyond election day on May 7th.
I see no success from this govt; also figures and statistics can be thrown about left,right and centre, most of which just go way over the heads of the voters.
They just want to feel better off than they did before, with decent wages and living standards for them rising, none of that can be claimed after 5 years of this shambles.