G20 moves from fiscal stimulus to austerity
George Osborne has been attending the latest G20 meeting where the focus has shifted from financial stimulus to austerity. There has been a loud call for all governments around the world to rein in their spending plans and budget deficits to try and rebalance the worldwide economy. It seems that world leaders have now recognised the fact there is no bottomless pit for a long-term fiscal stability program and budgets need to be reduced immediately.
This was George Osborne's first major meeting since taking over as Chancellor of the Exchequer and by all accounts he was welcomed into the fold. Initial doubts about the experience and ability of George Osborne now seem to be reducing and his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer, albeit still in the very early days, has strengthened lately. Many of the opposition MPs in Parliament were looking to use George Osborne's relative lack of experience to try and destabilise David Cameron's coalition government. However, this would seem be to be a forlorn hope at this moment in time!
The UK government is now entering a phase of massive public sector investment cuts which will be announced with the budget on June 22.
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