CHANCER Chancellor George Osborne’s “economic plan” took another battering yesterday as trade stats showed 2014 was the worst year for British goods exports under Con-Dem rule. 

Across last year as a whole the deficit, not including financial services, stood over five times higher than in 1998 at a whopping £119.9 billion.

Annual exports of goods fell by £14.6bn to £292bn — the lowest since 2010.

Experts said the figures betrayed Mr Osborne’s continued failure to focus the economy away from the City bubble despite vows made in the heat of the bankers’ crisis.

“George Osborne promised us the march of the makers in 2011, but today’s figures show us that UK manufacturing is only marching ever closer towards the precipice,” said Left Economic Advisory Panel analyst Andrew Fisher.

“The financialisation of the UK economy has hollowed out production and left our economy fragile, with a labour market that increasingly only creates low-paid and insecure work.”