Osborne: A reasonable rate

George Osborne, chancellor, comments on the VAT rise to the Today programme:

“It is a reasonable rate to set given the very difficult situation we find ourselves in.

“When you’ve got a very large budget deficit and you’ve in the middle of a European sovereign debt crisis – and you’ve decided that at least part of dealing with the deficit has to come from tax rises – then I think VAT presents itself as the choice.”