Today, George Osborne, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver his annual budget speech to parliament. The Daily Telegraph explains what is at stake:
With gloomy economic forecasts, a resurgent Labour party, and increasingly rebellious Tory backbenchers, the Chancellor needs to convince voters that his plan for the UK's finances is the right one.
Amid signs that the Office for Budget Responsibility will again downgrade growth forecasts, Mr Osborne will again attempt to explain to the country why the course he has chosen is better that the one favoured by Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor.
The cartoon by Paul Thomas from the Daily Express shows Osborne in his office in 11 Downing Street studying the second draft of his budget speech. Prime Minister David Cameron tells him, "Keep reminding the public that it's even worse in Cyprus ...", a reference to the banking crisis in that small island country. Small consolation ...
VOCABULARY
1. In Britain, the Budget is the financial plan in which the government states how much money it intends to raise through taxes and how it intends to spend it. The Budget is also the speech in which this plan is announced.
2. A draft is an early version of a letter, book, or speech. • I faxed a first draft of this article to him.
GRAMMAR
Worse is the comparative form of the adjective bad, not to be confused with worst, which is the superlative form. • This is the worst economic crisis in living memory. It's even worse than the Great Depression.
