Leading article: A glimpse of the new political battleground
Published: 06 December 2005
The surreptitious way that the Chancellor of the Exchequer slipped out the bad news in his pre-budget report yesterday - namely that UK economic growth this year will be half of what he predicted - was almost comic. It takes some chutzpah to casually mention before the House of Commons that what you predicted to the British people one month before a general election was very wide of the mark.
But Gordon Brown is entitled to a little chutzpah. His record remains formidable. The Chancellor's stewardship of the economy has delivered 34 consecutive quarters of growth. And in spite of all that is happening in the world, Britain has reasonable growth, controlled inflation and low unemployment.
Article Length: 540 words (approx.)
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