Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister Without Portfolio, responding to George Osborne’s announcement on abandoning his surplus target, said:

“While Michael Gove stood in front of the massed media to launch his leadership campaign, George Osborne has attempted to slip out a bombshell: he no longer thinks he’ll be able to meet another one of his self-imposed targets. No proper explanation, no suggestion of what he’s going to do about it, just an announcement and then he disappears again.

"After six years in office we’re sadly accustomed to this Chancellor’s failure but frankly this isn’t good enough. The Tory Party should be dealing with the problems facing the country, problems they are responsible for. Instead they’re focussed only on themselves and offer no answers to working people.”