Just three out of 27 EU countries saw bigger fall in living standards than the UK in past two years since George Osborne's autumn 2010 spending review.
The UK has had the biggest fall in living standards of any EU country bar Greece, Cyprus and the Netherlands in the past two years, according to new figures.
The analysis, commissioned by Labour from the House of Commons library, shows how living standards (measured as real wages – ie wages minus inflation) have changed in every EU country over the last two years since George Osborne’s autumn 2010 spending review.
Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls MP said the figures showed just how far Britain was falling behind the rest of Europe under this government.
“We are losing in the global race with only three out of 27 EU countries suffering bigger falls in living standards than us.
“A flatlining economy under David Cameron and George Osborne over the last two years has made British people worse off, but families, pensioners and businesses cannot afford another two years of falling living standards.”
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38 Responses to “Just three EU countries saw bigger drop in living standards than UK in past two years”
cynicalhighlander
Since living standards have been falling in the Uk for over 3 decades under both Labour and Tories the future is not bright.
Mick
Oh Labour Labour Labour, left left left.
Old Labour glee in producing such figures but the fact remains that they’re celebrating a picked record of life under NEW Labour. And under the last OLD Labour government, the economy was in such an obscene state that this little graph is meaningless.
So what’s it to be then Labour? Back to success or back to the dark?
Mick
And there’s a bit of this as well, for context: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/why-austerity-works-and-fiscal-stimulus-doesn-t.html
Lawrence Roper
Check your facts, the economy was in growth when the Tories took over in 2010 (try ONS for that fact). We have lost the AAA rating and whilst the ‘deficit’ may have been reduced by 25% the National Debt has quietly increased by £289 billion to reach an eye watering £1.1 trillion in just over two years on top of which we are facing a triple dip recession for the first time ever.
I fail to see any success in any of that.
But hey Chairman Cameron said that if we are all really, really good and vote correctly at the next election we might, possibly have a referendum on something EU related at some point in the future. Somehow Mr. and Mrs. Tory Gullible fell for that, but the voters in a certain recent by-election clearly didn’t.
Mick
Not so much growth but survuving the punch during the biggest slump in 18 years. And some climate for true growth with a credit crunch, rocketting spending and unemployment for a country to grasp. At one point in 2008, Sterling was worth almost the same as the EU’s dummy money and hit $1.47 against the dollar.