Budget 2010: emergency action

"This is an emergency budget, so let me speak plainly about the emergency that we face,” Chancellor George Osborne told a packed House of Commons braced for the worst.

"The coalition government has inherited from its predecessor the largest budget deficit of any economy in Europe with the single exception of Ireland. One pound in every four we spend is being borrowed. What we have not inherited from our predecessor is a credible plan to reduce their record deficit."

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