George Osborne asked if he should 'get the sack' after failing two in three Budget pledges

'I do not hide… from telling the British people the challenges we face'

George Osborne was asked on Thursday morning if his failure to meet two out of three economic commitments meant he should be sacked as the UK Chancellor.

Appearing on the Today programme to defend his Budget for 2016, Mr Osborne was forced to admit that pledges to cut debt as a proportion of GDP and cap welfare spending – “enshrined in law” – had been missed.

When pressed repeatedly by presenter John Humphreys, Mr Osborne accepted that “by our own measurements, and the tests we’ve set ourselves, independently assessed, we have got more to do”, refusing to accept personal blame.

“I do not hide… from telling the British people the challenges we face and then I set out the action to deliver it,” he said. “And people can see increased security in our country as a result.”

Humphreys responded: “Or they could take another view. They could say ‘here’s a bloke who made three firm non-negotiable commitments to the nation, these three targets that had to be set.’

“Nobody made you do this, you chose to do it for yourself. You said ‘these are the three things we’re going to do because the nation needs it’.

“You have failed to achieve two of them, it’s looking pretty unlikely according to most people that you will achieve the third.

“So I suppose, what I’m suggesting to you, what I’m asking you really, is what’s a bloke gotta do in your job to get the sack?”

Mr Osborne struggled to respond, before suggesting British people can “chuck out governments if they don’t like them”.

Earlier, Mr Osborne had a similarly difficult time on Sky News, when he was confronted on the impact of his disability cuts.