Quotes from George Osborne

Autism is a very serious condition.

We should be doing more business with China. We should be better connected to the Chinese economy.

We need to think deeply about whether we can sustain banks that are not only too big to fail, but potentially too big to bail.

If freedom of movement is to be sustainable, then our publics must see it as freedom to move to work, rather than freedom to choose the most generous benefits.

Sound public finances are not the enemy of sustained growth - they are its precondition.

Most successful politicians don't let the job swamp their lives.

It's difficult to see how Syria can have any long-term future with Assad there as president. Many people would never return to that country if that were the case.

The police protect us, and we're going to protect the police.

I've always thought that good politics follows from good economics and good policies.

What's important is that, come the general election, people think the right things of you. They think that you've got the right values and the right policies. And that you're the right kind of person to lead the country.

The Office for Budget Responsibility correctly stay out of the political debate and do not assess the long-term costs and benefits of E.U. membership.

If the country's poorer, it's got less money.

No ifs, no buts - we will not share the pound if Scotland separates from the U.K.

It's in our interests that the euro is a successful, strong currency.

It's not enough to tackle just the symptoms of poverty. You have to tackle the causes of poverty.

We are very supportive of the economic reforms that the Chinese government have talked about.

Politics as a parent is fairly demanding; if your parent is in politics, it's fairly demanding, so I make no excuses about taking two weeks off.

You cannot tackle Britain's debts without tackling the unreformed welfare system.

It's not easy cutting welfare bills. It's not easy cutting the deficit.

Margaret Thatcher's government redistributed money from rich to poor. And that's the nature of a modern western democracy.

Even as China's growth slows, it will continue to be a powerhouse for the global economy.

Cutting budget deficits can never be just an exercise in economics.

Just as we should never balance the budget on the backs of the poor, so it is an economic delusion to think you can balance it only on the wallets of the rich.

I'm a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. They lead to a more enterprising economy. But I'm not somebody who believes you can fund lower taxes by borrowing more money.