Ed Balls is back on form, but that doesn’t give Labour economic credibility

There were two key lessons from Treasury Questions today. The first is about Labour’s post-autumn statement line of attack. We already knew from Ed Balls’ briefing last Thursday that he feels cost of living is still a valid debate for the next year, while ministers want to talk about credibility and the need for a credible government to finish the job. But today he wove that together with the government’s claims about the cost of living, arguing that ministers had fudged their figures to claim that living standards are improving. He said:

‘Let me ask the Chief Secretary: on Thursday the Chancellor claimed in this House that living standards are rising. On Friday the institute for Fiscal Studies said that living standards are falling. So who’s right?’