Our first benchmark is to cut the deficit more quickly to safeguard Britainโs credit rating. I know that we are taking a political gamble to set this up as a measure of success. Protecting the credit rating will not be easy The pace of fiscal consolidation will be co-ordinated with monetary policy. And we will protect Britain's credit rating and international reputation.
George OsbornePut on top of that the fact that the whole world is looking at Britain and saying how is this country going to pay its way in the future. They are looking at other countries like Greece who can't pay their way in the future and you see savage spending cuts, big cuts in pay.
George OsborneJust as we should never balance the budget on the backs of the poor, so it is an economic delusion to think you can balance it only on the wallets of the rich.
George OsborneWe are pretty tough in saying for example if you've got unsecured debts and less than ยฃ25,000 that should not be an excuse for repossessing someone's home.That should not be allowed.You have got to help manage people through this process. I don't want to pretend that it is going to be easy getting out of Gordon Brown's hole.
George OsborneThere are a lot of examples where people aren't getting the right information. We could do a lot more with credit card bills so people properly understand that if you pay off the minimum it could take you 41 years to pay off is that right.
George Osborne