Economic Policy

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Defence – in the House of Commons at 3:33 pm on 25 February 2013.

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Photo of George Osborne George Osborne The Chancellor of the Exchequer 3:33, 25 February 2013

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is why one of our debt objectives relates to the structural deficit. The structural deficit is the part that does not go away when the economy grows. The shadow Chancellor’s argument that all these problems will disappear as the economy grows is simply nonsense. That was his argument before the financial crisis, that is why Britain went into the financial crisis with a 5% structural deficit, and that is why, when boom turned to bust, the country found itself without any money.