YOU would hope that the man in charge of our finances would know what 7x8 is? However in an interview with Sky News, Mr Osborne was asked that very question by a seven year old boy who started his question with: are you good at maths?

Refusing to answer the question, our esteemed chancellor replied he did A level maths, so had been tested at school.

It is little wonder that Mr Osborne has failed to match his pledge to eliminate the deficit by 2015, with government debt standing at 75 per cent of GDP with an economy built on low wages and low interest rates. Mr Gove should send Boy George back to school.

Cllr Nigel Dix, Blackwood