B is for Bankruptcy, C is for Confidence

Oh, the glee on the faces of Labour Ministers as the growth figures came in at 0.2% on Tuesday. How they gloated and tried to hold a "more in sorrow than in anger" line, while dancing the fandango on the fractional number.

Oh, the glee on the faces of Labour Ministers as the growth figures came in at 0.2% on Tuesday. How they gloated and tried to hold a "more in sorrow than in anger" line, while dancing the fandango on the fractional number.

But the number was positive. Growth it was (certainly to the Labour Party's collective disappointment) and we always said it would be choppy, given the economic storm that we inherited from Labour.

As Labour calls for a mysterious Plan B, they naturally avoid mention of the evident strength of George Osborne's strategy. This strength that has been absent from the Labour party's economic policy for many years. It is confidence.

Last year UK bond markets were reflecting their anxiety about our growing deficit and the uncertainty around any plan. That changed after the election.

This Government has settled that storm of uncertainty. It has set out the budget and the plan to reduce the deficit over this Parliament. It is clear, costed and necessary. All over the world we can see how difficult it has been for these necessary cost cuttings to be implemented. The US itself is even now experiencing its own high profile difficulties in getting agreement.

But in the UK, the Plan is in place. And for that we are rewarded with confidence from the financial markets, and therefore with lower costs in our borrowing. We are no longer compared to Greece.

In October last year Standard and Poors revised their outlook for our public finances from negative to stable.

We may still have the deficit of Portugal but we also have the interest rates of Germany. The market has confidence in our deficit reduction plan. Uk Gilts are just over 3% and they are stable.

As well as containing the costs of our borrowing, families reap the benefits in lower interest charges for their mortgage costs.

This recovery is not straightforward. We are surrounded by immense problems in the Eurozone, which are not resolved. Yet growth is coming. We have 500,000 more private sector jobs already compared to one year ago.

Labour by contrast has no plan. They can have a D, for Dunce.

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