MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
PM Cameron confirms economic policy: names Osborne first secretary of state
Osborne served as Chancellor of the Exchequer during Cameron's first five-year term and oversaw a recovery of the economy from the financial crisis. 
Theresa May will remain as interior minister; Philip Hammond as foreign secretary and Michael Fallon in defense Prime Minister David Cameron reappointed George Osborne as his finance minister on Friday and gave him a bigger cabinet role after Britain's economic recovery helped their party to an unexpectedly big election victory.
Osborne will have a freer hand in his purge of Britain's public finances after the Conservative Party won an outright majority on Thursday, meaning it no longer has to seek consensus with its former Liberal Democrat coalition partners.
As well as keeping Osborne in charge of Britain's economy, Cameron named him first secretary of state, making him the most senior member of cabinet after the prime minister.
Osborne served as Chancellor of the Exchequer throughout Cameron's first five-year term. During that time, he oversaw a recovery of the economy from the damage wrought by the financial crisis.
The improvement was slow at first but gained speed sharply in 2013 and 2014, transforming Osborne, 43, from one of Britain's most unpopular politicians to a contender to succeed Cameron, who has said he will not seek a third term.
Osborne has also halved Britain's large budget deficit, now running at nearly 5% of GDP, although he missed his original target to eliminate it altogether by now.
In other cabinet re-appointments on Friday, Cameron announced Theresa May would remain as interior minister while Philip Hammond and Michael Fallon would keep their jobs as foreign and defense ministers, respectively.
As a key Conservative Party strategist, Osborne is expected to play a big role in Britain's attempts to win back some powers from the European Union before holding a referendum before the end of 2017 on whether to remain in the bloc.
He will also help come up with London's response to the rise of the Scottish nationalists, which could involve the devolution of more powers to Scotland. The nationalists won 56 out of 59 seats north of the border.
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Read all commentsThe 2017 date means that the referendum won't be a referendum, because as things stand at the moment the rules of the EU are to change before 2017 to make it illegal to leave the EU!
May 09th, 2015 - 12:20 pm 0It will be just like the Eagles song “Hotel California”; you “can check in but you can never leave”.
Umm..... ChrisR. You might want to double check that lyric reference. .. or were you employing a little 'artistic license ' ?
May 09th, 2015 - 01:13 pm 0:-)
@1. Have you missed a point in international law? I'm surprised. Argieland does it regularly. What you do is to repudiate the treaty that creates the rules. Do you get this concept of 'sovereignty'? Being 'sovereign' means that you get to do what you want. Let's take a frinstance. The UK decides to leave the EU. It repeals the European Communities Act. Labour, LibDem, SNP MPs get their faces smashed against convenient walls until they vote 'correctly'. Repeal of the ECA means that no EU treaty, directive, order, rule has any effect in the UK. This isn't latam where some silly, subservient organisation gets to tell a sovereign country what to do. I wonder if the UK might go so far as to suggest that it might bomb Brussels? What was Paraguay's economic situation in 2012? Could it have told mercosur to get knotted and set up trade links with France, Germany, UK and USA?
May 09th, 2015 - 01:14 pm 0You do understand that the FINAL SOLUTION is to say NO, don't you? I'd like to see the namb-pamby 27 members of the EU trying to stop the UK doing what it intends to do. Here's a plan. EU officials expelled. UK ends diplomatic relations with 27 members and allows 7 days for 'diplomats' to leave. Nationals of 27 member states no longer able to enter the UK. Exports to 27 member states cease. Imports from 27 member states taken but not paid for unless member state accepts UK secession. EU contributions cease. Foreign fishing vessels in UK-designated waters are fired on until they leave. Just a few starting ideas.
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