Osborne urges Labour MPs to vote for fiscal responsibility charter

Chancellor seeks to exploit party's disarray over economic policy following budget surplus U-turn by shadow chancellor John McDonnell

George Osborne has moved to exploit Labour's disarray on economic policy by urging its MPs to vote for government's fiscal responsibility charter, and so reject the shadow chancellor's last-minute U-turn.

John McDonnell gave a series of explanations for his volte-face on the Treasury charter, which commits the government to produce budget surpluses at times of economic growth, and which he had said as recently as two weeks ago he would support. His reasons ranged from a meeting with redundant steelworkers in Redcar to a downturn in the world economy.