Farron calls on Osborne to abandon surplus target

Tim Farron has urged George Osborne to "abandon his unnecessary surplus target" to avoid more "pain" for the public.

The Liberal Democrat leader said the surplus was not needed to balance the books and abandoning it would allow "vital services" to be funded.

Mr Farron said: "George Osborne made a choice to commit himself to a spending surplus. The results of that choice are now clear - he is missing his own targets but it's the public that will pay for his decision with more years of pain and cuts.

"What George Osborne forgets is that his decisions aren't just some political theatre - every choice, every cut hurts ordinary people.

"Having missed two of his three self-imposed targets, he should do the right thing and abandon his unnecessary surplus target."