Alistair Darling MP, Labour's Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in response to George Osborne's National Insurance Contributions proposals today: "This would derail the recovery this year, undermine deficit reduction, and put public services at risk. George Osborne has panicked and is making policy up on the hoof.

Vince Cable is the public’s preferred choice for Chancellor, according to a poll by PoliticsHome. Of the general public polled, 31% chose Vince Cable above George Osborne, Alistair Darling, Ken Clarke, Peter Mandelson and Ed Balls. The poll also found that 79% of Liberal Democrat voters supported Vince Cable for the job, while Osborne and Darling received

There has been much talk about what George Osborne told Alistair Darling about the EU bailout mechanism during those days in May between the election and the coalition being formed. But notes of a conversation between Osborne and Darling released today show that Osborne did urge Darling not to commit to anything that would have a lasting effect on the public finances. Osborne also suggested that t...

There has been much talk about what George Osborne told Alistair Darling about the EU bailout mechanism during those days in May between the election and the coalition being formed. But notes of a conversation between Osborne and Darling released today show that Osborne did urge Darling not to commit to anything that would have a lasting effect on the public finances. Osborne also suggested that t...

Shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday signalled support for some reductions in public spending to finance tax cuts. It came as Alistair Darling continued to stoke speculation that there will be limited tax cuts before Christmas as a result of measures to be announced in the pre-budget report next Monday. Speaking yesterday after the G20 meeting in Washington, the chancellor said the economy n...

CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling was today expected to accuse the Tories of "relishing the chance to swing the axe" at public services.

The proposed cuts in public spending set out by the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne are likely to be just the first small step towards the biggest and most painful fiscal squeeze seen for at least a generation.

THE Conservatives have attempted to pitch themselves as the "progressive party" as shadow chancellor George Osborne warned that Labour would be forced to slash public

Alistair Darling the Chancellor has launched a personal attack on George Osborne saying his Conservative shadow is not "grown up" and engages in "the politics of the playground".

The government's £20bn tax giveaway will hit middle Britain and leave a tax bomb ticking under the public purse, George Osborne said today. Responding to Alistair Darling's pre-budget report, the shadow chancellor warned it would create a £1tn national debt and he branded a 0.5% increase in national insurance a "tax on jobs". Laying into the proposals, Osborne said that Gordo...