The foundations of a strong economy don’t rest alone on the decisions of Chancellors or the spending programmes of government.

Osborne’s line argues that economic strength is not produced solely by top-down fiscal choices—budgets, tax decisions, or public spending plans—but also by wider forces such as private-sector investment, productivity, skills, entrepreneurship, and public confidence. It reflects a political-economic stance often associated with centre-right governance: government can set conditions (stability, incentives, regulation), but durable prosperity depends on decisions made across society—businesses hiring and investing, workers training, consumers spending, and institutions functioning effectively. The phrasing also subtly distributes responsibility for economic outcomes beyond the Treasury, implying that judging an economy only by a Chancellor’s budget measures is incomplete.