So, George Osborne has expressed 'surprise' at news the economy is shrinking.

[Grumpyoldhorsewoman]

Quite what was he expecting?
People are being made redundant in their thousands, small businesses are going to the wall on a daily basis, public sector jobs are being cut or pay frozen and nobody can be sure where they will be financially in three months time. Meanwhile, VAT has risen to 20% while inflation (exacerbated by high fuel and grain prices) continues to grow.

Just the thing to make you want to rush out and spend whatever you can to keep the economy growing, ain't it.

Keep it up, Georgie boy. You're doing a grand job.

George Osbourne is quite clearly as thick as mince. Don't know what he was expecting but this is EXACTLY what I was expecting.

Scary times.

Absolutely - scary times indeed.

He would rather rip his own tongue out than admit he was wrong.
He is also quite ugly

Gordon Brown, in his time as Chancellor, consistently overestimated growth... 'an end to boom and bust!'... and that's why his spending plans were always ahead of the money available. He never had the good grace to look surprised and certainly never apologised for his mistakes.

What do you expect from a Chancellor who does cannot see the connection between tax revenue and his own tax avoidance

So depressing isn't it.