Osborne pledges no rise in fuel duty – and to budget for a surplus in the next Parliament

George Osborne walked the tightrope between optimism and realism with success.

WATCH Sajid Javid: From rescue to recovery

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid on bringing the economy back from the brink

George Osborne, Mr Workfare

A major welfare announcement would usually be made to the Conservative Conference by the Work and Pensions Secretary.  So why… Read more »

The Conservatives must mean business

There is a golden chance for Cameron after Miliband’s speech yesterday to show that lower taxes and less regulation are the route to better public services, lower energy bills and more homes

Ed Balls pledges yet more spending – funded with cash he’s already promised to use on ten other things

Watching Ed Balls talk about money being tight is like watching Tiger Woods speak about the importance of marriage. Not content with wrecking the nation’s public finances, his new policy is funded by money he’s already spent ten times over.

Labour has £28 billion worth of unfunded spending commitments – Shapps

I’m not going to report each time the Party Chairman announces a new attack website, but here’s today’s, timed for the start of Miliband’s Conference.

Watch Sajid Javid

It’s no surprise to see Conservative attack dog Chris Grayling sinking his fangs into Labour’s spending pledges in today’s Sunday… Read more »

Who is winning the Coalition? Us or the Lib Dems?

Now that both parties are fighting to take credit for the coalition's achievements, rather than seeking to blame each other… Read more »

Clegg faces down the Lib Dem left over economic policy, but they remain a disunited party

By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. Nick Clegg has emerged victorious from his calculated confrontation with the left of the Liberal Democrats… Read more »

It’s the standard of living, stupid

By Harry PhibbsFollow Harry on Twitter In the 1997 General Election campaign the Conservatives ran a huge advertising campaign with billboards… Read more »

On tax, raising the stamp duty threshold tops our “red lines” poll and restoring the 10p tax band comes last

By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. I wrote yesterday that it is perhaps surprising not to see the economy or… Read more »

The same refrain from the employment statistics: good topline figures, but problems persist in the detail

The ONS’ Labour Market Statistics paint a familiar picture today: Employment is up, both in terms of the headcount (29.84… Read more »

Your five (and a bit) point guide to Osborne’s big speech

I wonder who does the location scouting for these big, ministerial speeches. George Osborne’s today was delivered in a building development that… Read more »

With his speech tomorrow, Osborne is trying to pre-empt a new set of political circumstances

Here are some numbers to chew over with your Sunday brunch. In December last year, George Osborne’s approval rating in our Cabinet… Read more »

“Just a small island … no one pays any attention to them…” (See graph)

By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. (Hat-tip: Andrew Lilico, who sent us the graph.)