Today in Westminster

I’m in my office in the Treasury, looking out over a wintry Westminster and preparing for tomorrow’s Commons debate on the Pre-Budget Report, where I’ll be leading for the Government.

But I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to comment on this afternoon’s events. I see that a couple of my Parliamentary colleagues think that we should take some time off from attacking the Tories to organise some internal ballots in the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Let me be clear: I think this is a mistake. Right now, we need a laser-like focus on locking in the recovery, ensuring that our economy grows and paying down the deficit. Earlier this week, we saw what happens when David Cameron gets put under pressure – his policies crumbled and his lack of credibility as a leader was exposed.

We need to get back to that business straight away, and we should note what the Prime Minister did so well at PMQs earlier today. He showed the difference between a Labour government committed to halving the deficit in four years, ensuring economic growth and protecting public services, and a Tory Party with a £34 billion credibility gap, led by a man who desperately wants to be all things to all people.