George Osborne is set to get a massive political boost as new figures suggest that the economy is nearly back to where it was in 2008, showing a full recovery after the financial crash.
According to the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR), growth will exceed its 2008 high in the next few months. The institute also upgraded its growth forecast for this year by 0.4%, predicting that the economy will grow by 2.9% in 2014.
NIESR director Jonathan Portes told The Times: "The end of the Great Recession, it is an important moment. The British economy is very close to being bigger than it has ever been. Symbolically, that matters, and it comes at a time when growth is clearly entrenched."
Before you reach for the champagne to celebrate, we at HuffPostUK thought it worth pointing out nine sobering economic issues that Osborne would be less keen to talk about.