I did meet Mickey Mouse in California, and he seems to be writing the Labour party's economic policy at the moment.

I think essentially if you look at British public debate around the issues of our interconnectedness with the global economy you do not find a ready audience, of any large scale, for pulling up the shutters.

One big theme for me is that we have got to move from an economy built on debt to one where we save and invest in the future.

Cutting budget deficits can never be just an exercise in economics.

I find China such a fascinating and interesting country. Each time I come back something has changed and it's moved on in leaps and bounds.

You know the illusion of the cheap money is over and now Britain has to go out there and graft and earn its way and create wealth and prosperity in a very competitive world.

No other chancellor in the long history of the office has felt the need to pass a law in order to convince people he has the political will to implement his own Budget.