Quotes By George Osborne

Believe me, I understand that most higher rate taxpayers are not the super-rich.

I would say I have taken substantive action to make things easier for people.

Everyone in our society has had to make a contribution towards dealing with the debts.

I think the British people are very, very attached to the idea that the health service is free at the point of use. But there is no reason why every doctor, nurse and teacher in this country has to be employed by the state.

The rise in world oil prices has been larger than anyone forecast.

Of all the public services, education is the one I'm most interested in. You get a more dynamic economy, you deal with most social problems, and it's morally right.

I get a lot of letters from people.

You cannot tackle Britain's debts without tackling the unreformed welfare system.

There was a real fear that a euro-zone bank might fail, that we'd have a sovereign debt problem in one of the larger European economies. That's dissipated, thanks largely to the action of the European Central Bank.

The British people think that if someone is disabled, then they should get all the care and support that we can offer.

I'm a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. They lead to a more enterprising economy. But I'm not somebody who believes you can fund lower taxes by borrowing more money.

If someone believes that living on benefits is a lifestyle choice, then we need to make them think again.

If we don't get a grip on government spending, there will be no growth.

I have done everything I can to move Britain out of the financial danger zone.

I want Britain to be a global financial centre but I want it to be properly regulated.

I didn't come from a traditional Tory background; it was urban and metropolitan.

I want to see genuine talent rewarded.

A generous basic state pension is the least a civilized society should offer those who have worked hard and saved through their whole lives.

I want Britain to be the home of successful competitive and stable financial services.

The Conservative Party mustn't sound like the old man on the park bench who says things were better in 1985, or 1955, or 1855.

Well British pension funds have not been investing the savings of British people in British infrastructure.

Unless they have disabilities to cope with, no family should get more from living on benefits than the average family gets from going out to work. No more open-ended chequebook.

I think you can look at the British economy with confidence.

Well can I just say unlike my predecessors, Conservative and Labour, I have set up an independent body that studies whether what I'm saying is true, whether I've met the targets that I set out.

You really have to try hard to create space and, at least for a time, stop the political world from rushing in. The important thing is to remain sane.