Mr Osborne's delusions

It takes a special kind of dishonesty to pretend you can fight the recession with thin air. Yet that is exactly what George Osborne proposed on the radio this morning, with a so-called loan guarantee that magically costs the taxpayer nothing. Mr Osborne has said again and again that he wouldn’t borrow the money to pay for these 'guarantees'. That isn't a guarantee - its an empty promise, as thin as the press release in which they were announced. If Mr Osborne is serious about fighting back against the worst global recession for 60 years, he would back our business support programmes which have helped 200,000 businesses defer £2.5 of taxes, part of our package of support for 500,000 jobs.