Mr Osborne, take courage – put Britain back in the euro debate

The view that the UK government’s austerity programme is condemning the country to more stagnation lacks evidence, writes Chris Giles

The view that the UK government’s austerity programme is condemning the country to more stagnation lacks evidence, writes Chris Giles

The chancellor will find it difficult to dismiss the opinions of the fiscal watchdog that he created when it presents numbers in the next few weeks, writes Chris Giles

The Office for Budget Responsibility is preparing to tell the chanceller that the task of repairing Britain’s public finances has become more onerous, writes Chris Giles

Treasury gallows humour: Britain has benefited from two windfalls over the past 30 years – North Sea oil and the City of London – and messed them both up, writes Chris Giles

The companies benefited from offering more upmarket products at Christmas such as venison and fine wines, according to the market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel. In the 12 weeks to December 23, Aldi sales rose 30pc compared to the previous year, meaning it claimed a record 3.2pc of the grocery market, compared to 2.6pc last year, reports The Telegraph.