George Osborne pitched his budget this week as one for those who aspire to work hard and own their own homes. His controversial "help-to-buy" plan harked back to the days of his hero Margaret Thatcher, but critics have been quick to worry about another credit-fueled property bubble. Meanwhile the underlying economic figures made grim reading. The gaping budget deficit has barely narrowed in the past financial year and borrowing is set to keep rising for far longer than planned.
On the panel to discuss this: Observer columnist Andrew Rawnsley, Guardian columnist Michael White and Guardian economics correspondent Phillip Inman.
Also this week: the crisis in the eurozone has flared up once more, this time in Cyprus. The Mediterranean island state only joined the euro in 2008 and was left badly exposed by the crisis in its neighbour Greece. With its banks shut for the week, Cypriot politicians have been left with a choice from the EU of taking money directly out of their voters bank accounts or going bust completely.
And finally: after months of deliberation on the Leveson report, a political deal was finally done this week on press regulation. But does it amount to state regulation? And will any of the newspapers at the heart of the hacking scandal actually sign up to the proposed new regulator? We hear from The Economist's John Micklethwaite who has deep misgivings about the new rules - and the manner in which they were drawn up.
Leave your thoughts below.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.guardian.co.uk |
