The BBC reports the shadow chancellor said government policies had ‘sucked confidence’ out of the economy.
Osborne told the commons yesterday that growth forecasts for 2013 had been halved to 0.6%.
Balls told the BBC: “The economy is not growing, If you’re a chancellor, if you made a mistake, do your U-turn quickly.
“The longer you wait, the worse it gets, and the harder it becomes politically, even if economically it’s the right thing.”
He accused Osborne of having a ‘self-denying ordinance’ which restricted him from anything but ‘tinkering at the edges’, the report said.
Osborne insists his strategy is working and said his Budget was aimed at ‘those who want to work and get on’.
MPs are due to debate the Budget later today.