Osborne rolls his sleeves up

Just in case you didn’t see the front cover of the Guardian, let me tell you: it’s a big day for George Osborne.  This, after all, is the day when he finally launches the Office for Budget Responsibility’s audit of the public finances – zero hour for the age of austerity.  Accordingly, then, Osborne has given his first major newspaper interview since becoming Chancellor.  Here, from that, is a quartet of observations for you:

Office for Budget Responsibility.  The more I hear about it, the more I like this Office for Budget Responsibility.  Sure, it’s another quango of sorts.  But anyone who has lamented the government’s wildly optimistic growth forecasts, or attacked their misleading debt figures, can’t really be too disappointed by independent oversight of these numbers.  What’s becoming clearer is that the OBR is a cornerstone of Osborne’s plans for a more transparent Treasury.