George Osborne's gamble on growth is risky, and will prove costly for the young

More of the tax burden will be heaped on young people - stripping them of housing benefits and making them wait longer for extra childcare subsidies

In March, George Osborne was all tough talk. To repeat one of his favourite phrases, there was a need to "fix the roof while the sun shines" - and that meant driving down public spending to create a budget surplus in 2018-19.

Now the surplus can wait another year. A smoother path of austerity will ease the tension inside Whitehall and economic growth will take up the slack, lifting wages and tax receipts.