George Osborne has described Mervyn King’s statement that Britain cannot afford another fiscal stimulus as “a defining moment in the political argument on the recession.”
In front of the Treasury Select Committee, Mr. King, the Governor of the Bank of England, said, “I think the fiscal position in the UK is not one where we could say, well, ‘Why don’t we just engage in another significant round of fiscal expansion?’.”
George, the Shadow Chancellor, said “the big debate” in British politics about the recession had been whether or not the country could afford a debt-funded fiscal stimulus.
Gordon Brown had claimed the Conservatives were on their own when they opposed Labour's VAT cut - so George stressed today’s statement by Mr. King was “hugely significant”:
“It completely vindicates the big decision taken by David Cameron and myself on the economy, and it leaves Gordon Brown's political plans for the G20 and the Budget in tatters. It is the Prime Minister who is now isolated at home and abroad.”