Summary: Even George Osborne’s fiercest critics would have to admit he was between a rock and a hard place when he set out the new budget on June 22. Britain has its biggest fiscal deficit since WWII – and, according to May’s IMF forecasts, it faces the toughest recovery of all the G20 countries. No one doubts that austerity is needed to reduce the deficit. But it’s less clear whether it should come sooner or later, and how public spending cuts should be balanced with tax rises
