Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Budget 2014: the six scary graphs

Listen — Fraser Nelson on what the budget means:


Yes, it's a recovery. The good parts of the Budget will be all over the media right now - the Treasury is very good at broadcasting its achievements. We'll cover them too, in a bit. But for now, in the interests of balance, here are some graphs that you won't find in the Budget, using data taken from its small print.

1. The Deficit - an improvement since last year's forecasts (thanks to higher growth). But still far adrift from what Osborne promised initially (in yellow, below).

Screen Shot 2014-03-19 at 13.05.03

2. Osborne fails his own debt test. The Chancellor congratulated himself for sticking to the course. "We set out our plan. And together with the British people, we held our nerve."

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