Osborne's misplaced trust in banks is a risk that has failed | Simon Jenkins

A wise chancellor would have pleaded with people to go out and spend. Lending-led recovery does not happen

Now we know. George Osborne is an old corporatist lefty at heart. He has led from the front and kept his nerve. He has won the central argument of British politics, that no country can afford to be casual about its debts. The coalition has not spooked the markets or sent interest payments soaring. Plenty of people, notably Labour, wanted the chancellor to take that risk. The state of...