You could judge Osborne by how he has performed versus the previous Labour chancellors and conclude that he has managed to clear up a lot of their mess.

I note you distance yourself from Labour, and by deduction you won't be voting Tory I guess?

Who are you voting for?

I think it's a bit rich for Labour to have a go at Osborne for "missing his targets", ie not eliminating the deficit.

They spent the first couple of years shouting "too far, too fast" at loud volume and insisting he move to "Plan B". Which he then effectively did. Just, for obvious political reasons, pretending it was still "plan A".

They should make more of the fact that he's basically done what Darling / Balls said should be done. It's right-wing hawks who should be moaning about him missing his targets.

But I guess that doesn't win as many votes.

...we must expand...get more pupils...so that the knowledge will spread...

Over half of the people in poverty are in work - that is an astonishing statistic. It's all well and good creating more jobs than the rest of the EU, but what's the point if people are still unable to pay for living essentials?

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4

Absolutely shocking indeed, just shows how empty claims of an economic revival are. Disgusting.

It's less than 60% of median income.

Median income = 26,500
60% of that = 15,900

That's about 1,325 quid a month.

Not exactly the life of riley but not the world of flea-infested children with rickets that the word "poverty" conjures up either.

...we must expand...get more pupils...so that the knowledge will spread...

Johnny come on, you are usually better than that. Relative poverty is a very serious issue, and not just some stick dreamt up by lefties to beat Tories with. It is really a measure of wealth inequality, based on whether your income is less than 60% of the average, thus meaning your share of wealth in relation to the national pie leaves you living without access to what would be considered an acceptable standard of living by most of us.

One of the interesting things about the economic statistics is to look at where jobs are being created. 80% have been in London since 2010, where rents are highest, cost of living highest, etc. This is, unsurprisingly, where income levels have fallen most dramatically too since 2010, and how exactly are you meant to pay your rent, travel and bills in one of the most expensive cities on the planet when you're most probably in a job which pays £6.50 an hour? Answer:you ain't going to, thus you are either forced to move you and your family away from an area despite the fact that you have a full time job, or you become reliant on a food bank to pay for food and the welfare state to top you up. That is detrimental to the wider economy, and while you can call it what you want, I think poverty is probably the most appropriate word for it.

Edited by serial thriller (20 Mar 2015 2.55pm)

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4