UK chancellor warns of economic challenges in 2016

LONDON

The U.K. economy faces tough economic challenges this year, Chancellor George Osborne told BBC Radio 4's Today program Thursday.

"It is precisely because we live in an uncertain world. It is precisely because we have not abolished boom and bust as a nation, that you need to take these steps, difficult steps and I need to go explaining to the public, that the difficult times aren't over." Mr Osborne said.

In his Autumn Statement on the economy on Nov. 25, the chancellor outlined a four-year plan to restore the U,K,'s public finances.

"We have got to go on making the difficult decisions, precisely so that Britain can continue to enjoy the low unemployment and the rising wages that we see at the moment," Osborne said.

"All the old habits, all the old bad ways that got Britain into that mess are re-emerging in some of our national debates, and I need to remind people that it's a very challenging world out there, that Britain still has big economic problems that it has to fix," he said.