Figures published last week showed a shock contraction in manufacturing which rounded off another dire week for the UK economy and signalled yet more misery for ordinary working families at the hands of government austerity.
That George Osborne should hail the loss of the UK’s AAA credit rating as evidence that yet more of the same cuts and austerity are needed is an alarming example of Orwellian “doublethink.” What is needed is Keynesian government pump priming, to fill the potholes, build houses, improve local rail networks (not HS2), invest in renewable energy sources etc, and so create employment, restore growth, increase tax revenues, eliminate the current deficit and bequeath to future generations a spanking economic infrastructure and a healthy society.
A poll conduced at the end of February by Ipsos-MORI for The Economist shows that the economy continues to be the public’s most pressing concern. This is potentially a double-edged sword for Labour. The public still blame Labour, rather than the banks for the deficit. Moving beyond that will be easier said than done.
Today’s figures from the ONS confirm that GDP fell by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012. Whilst the upward revision is obviously good news, there is no disguising the fact that these are disastrous figures.
The Financial Times has this morning produced a blinding set of graphs which highlight how fiscal austerity has negatively impacted on the GDP of various European economies.
Sometimes, even abject policy failure doesn’t make much material difference. This is the paradox of the UK government’s loss of its AAA credit rating.
The blame for the downgrading of the UK’s triple-A credit rating by Moody’s can be laid squarely at the door of the government.
The government claim to be taking tax avoidance seriously, but so far the rhetoric has been far removed from reality.
The chancellor George Osborne has written in the Guardian that he is committed to ending tax abuse by multinational companies. He needs to show he means it.
The chancellor George Osborne is coming under increasing pressure from tory back benchers and the governor of the bank of England to pursue a more right wing agenda.
