Watch: Seema Malhotra’s car-crash Sunday Politics interview

With the Budget due next week, George Osborne appeared on the Andrew Marr show to warn of the need for further spending cuts. Keen to put forward an alternative vision for the UK economy, Labour’s Treasury team have also taken to the airwaves this morning. John McDonnell told Marr of the need for more long-term investment, arguing that at least 3 per cent of GDP should be used for investment compared to Osborne’s 1.4 per cent.

Alas it seems that Labour’s shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury had failed to catch this. When Seema Malhotra appeared on the Sunday Politics to help explain McDonnell’s vision she appeared to lack knowledge of any of the specifics. What followed was an awkward exchange as Malhotra repeatedly failed to answer Andrew Neil’s questions on Labour’s economic plan:

AN: You would balance current spending, day to day spending, which at the moment there is a deficit.