The government has pledged to halve the deficit by 2011 More than 60 senior economists have signed two open letters that back the chancellor's decision to delay government spending cuts until 2011.The letters say that any measures to trim the budget deficit this year could pull the country back into recession. They are a riposte to the 20 economists who backed the Conservatives' call for cuts this year in the Sunday Times. Those economists had argued a lack of a credible plan threatened to push up interest rates and undermine recovery. The debate centres on how and when to bring down government borrowing, which has ballooned following the financial crisis and recession, without hurting economic recovery. The budget deficit - the difference between government spending and the income it receives through taxation and other sources - is expected to be more than £170bn in the current financial year. ANALYSIS By Hugh Pym, Chief economics correspondent It would be mildly amusing if it wasn't so serious.[Read more...]