Dame Joan Ruddock 
Former MP for Lewisham Deptford
  • Home
  • Latest News
    • Joan in Parliament
    • Early Day Motions
  • About Joan
  • Constituency
    • Local Groups & Organisations
    • Constituency Campaigns
    • Map of the Constituency
    • Constituency Facts & Figures
  • Gallery
  • Contact & Surgeries
    • When to Contact Your MP
    • Tours of Parliament
    • Watch a Debate/PMQs
  • News Archive
  • FAQs
    • Useful Links

Economy Flatlining When We Need Strong Growth

1/11/2011

 
Picture
Ed Balls MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, responding to today's GDP figures, said:

“Today's figures confirm that the British economy has been bumping along the bottom for the past twelve months - flatlining when we need strong growth to get unemployment and the deficit down.


“As the ONS has said today, growth of just 0.5 per cent over the past year since the Chancellor’s spending review - compared to 1.6 per cent in the US - is a significant slowdown from the 2.6 per cent we saw in the previous twelve months when we were starting to recover from the global financial crash. 

“The fact is that our recovery was choked off well before the eurozone crisis of recent months by spending cuts and tax rises which go too far and too fast. 

“Already, the stagnant growth and higher unemployment that George Osborne's failing policies have delivered mean the government is set to borrow £46 billion more than they planned. After today's figures, the Chancellor will now have to downgrade his growth forecasts for a fourth time later this month - and revise up again his borrowing forecasts.

“These are really worrying times for families and pensioners struggling to pay the bills, young people out of work in record numbers and businesses on the edge. The combination of sluggish growth, rising unemployment, falling confidence and the latest surveys indicating a contracting manufacturing sector and depressed business confidence mean this is no time for complacency from the government. 

“We now urgently need Labour's five point plan for jobs and growth to help struggling families, get young people back to work and support small businesses. The reckless thing to do is plough on regardless with a plan that isn’t working, the cautious thing to do on basis of all the evidence of this significant slowdown is to act now.”

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    Animal Welfare
    Armed Forces
    Betting Shops
    Budget
    Charity
    Crime
    Culture
    Defence
    Economy
    Employment
    Environment
    Equality
    Families
    Foreign Policy
    Health
    High Streets
    Home Affairs
    House Of Lords
    Housing
    International Development
    Justice
    Labour Party
    Local Elections
    Local Government
    London Mayoral Election
    Nhs
    Olympics
    Party Funding
    Pensions
    Police
    Shadow Cabinet
    Social Care
    Tax
    Transport
    Women

    RSS Feed

This website was established while I was the Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford. 

All parliamentary copyright images reproduced with the permission of Parliament.