Britannia Radio

Tessa Jowell is faced with a task she cannot possibly fulfill and is 
showing the signs of panic. Or maybe she is looking for a later good 
excuse.

Then Osborne, Grayling  and Cameron lay into the government very 
effectively

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BBC ONLINE   15.12.08
Tories attack economy 'admission'

The Tories have seized on comments from Olympics minister Tessa 
Jowell that Britain is facing a recession "deeper than any that we 
have known".

They say her comments in a BBC interview contradict the chancellor's 
claim that the UK economy would return to growth in the second half 
of 2009.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said it was a "stunning admission of 
the true disaster" facing Britain.

Ms Jowell later accused him of the "politics of the playground".
Her comments came on BBC Two's Daily Politics programme when she was 
asked about the 2012 Olympics' £9.325bn budget, at a time when 
Britain is expected to go into recession.

'Economic gold'
She told the programme it had been right to bid for the Olympics 
because of the sporting legacy it would create.
"But, as it turns out, facing a recession deeper than any that we 
have known, almost certainly, the Olympics is, I mean, it's economic 
gold at a time of economic need," she said.

She said it would create jobs, business and commercial opportunities 
and would be a £6bn "shot in the arm".

But later Mr Osborne said the comments demolished the chancellor's 
predictions for the British economy.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has said a recession is likely but he 
expects growth to return "in the second half of next year".

Mr Osborne said Ms Jowell's comments were "a stunning admission of 
the true disaster that Gordon Brown and the Labour government has 
visited on the country".

"For months they tried to pretend Britain would be better off than 
previous recessions.
"Now someone who sits round Gordon Brown's Cabinet table admits that 
it will be worse," he said.
"If that is true then all the forecasts made by the chancellor just a 
few weeks ago will be blown out of the water."

'Real leadership'
Conservative leader David Cameron also raised the comments in the 
House of Commons later asking Gordon Brown: "Isn't it clear we are 
not well prepared?"

Mr Brown's spokesman said later the forecasts for the economy had 
been set out in the pre-Budget report.

And Ms Jowell said later the row exposed "the complete emptiness of 
the Tories' response to the challenges we are facing".

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  First, Tessa Jowell and now Alistair Darling himself have admitted 
that Britain is predicted to have one of the worst recessions in its 
recent history
George Osborne  Shadow chancellor
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"This is the politics of the playground," she said.
"Gordon Brown is showing real leadership and offering real action to 
help families, homeowners and businesses."

Later in the Commons Mr Darling was asked why the European Commission 
and the IMF were predicting the UK would be the hardest hit among the 
developed world.

Mr Darling said: "London is the major financial services sector of 
the world.
"Of course we are likely to be more severely affected as a result of 
the profitability being reduced and I've made that point on many 
occasions.
"We're also affected by the downturn in the housing market because of 
the reduced revenues in relation to stamp duty.
"But there's not a country in the world now that isn't being 
affected. This truly is a global problem."

Mr Osborne said: "First, Tessa Jowell and now Alistair Darling 
himself have admitted that Britain is predicted to have one of the 
worst recessions in its recent history."
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CONSERVATIVE HOME Blog   16.12.08
George Osborne and Chris Grayling slate the Government's economic and 
welfare plans

Yesterday the Conservatives led a debate on the economic, pensions 
and welfare portions of the Queen's Speech.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne kicked things off. The Tory 
amendment indicated humble regret that:

"the Gracious Speech fails to deliver a clear direction for British 
economic policy, does not contain measures to assist in building a 
low debt and low tax economy, and lacks any radical action to unblock 
the credit channels of our banking system; note that many individuals 
have seen returns on their savings severely reduced as a result of 
the economic downturn and regret that the Government has no plans for 
emergency protection of pensioners with a suspension of annuity 
rules; further regret the absence of a clear strategy on value added 
tax; and further regret the absence of measures to avoid the United 
Kingdom undergoing the worst recession in the G7 next year.".

Mr Osborne then turned the screw:
"What has been the judgment in the last week alone on the 
Chancellor's claim? The pound has fallen against the euro, hitting a 
record low earlier today and demonstrating again the Prime Minister's 
maxim that a weak currency is a reflection of a weak economy and a 
weak Government. The loss of international credibility has sent the 
cost of insuring British Government debt higher than insuring the 
debt of those two homes of French fries, Belgium and McDonalds. An 
independent survey out today says that the drop in the VAT rate seems 
to have made little difference in lifting consumer confidence and 
encouraging consumers to spend. The head of Barclays bank says that 
despite the measures announced by the Government over the past few 
weeks, such as those on stamp duty, house prices will fall by at 
least as much next year as they have this year.
This lunchtime, the Minister for the Olympics has contradicted every 
statement made by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor over the past 
six months by admitting, in her words, that Britain is facing a 
recession [see first posting above]
. "deeper than any that we have known".

So, what about all that talk about the 1980s and 1990s now? The 
Finance Minister of the world's third largest economy has described 
the Government's approach as "crass" and "breathtaking" and raising 
debt to a level that will take "a whole generation" to pay off. That 
is the problem with saving the world-sometimes the world answers back."

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling wound up the debate 
for the Conservatives.
Mr Grayling was acerbic too:

"This Queen's Speech has all the hallmarks of a Government who have 
been in power too long. It has all the characteristics of a 
Government who have run out of ideas, and we now have a set of 
Ministers who no longer have the ability to distinguish between the 
national interest, their party interest and their own personal 
interest. At a time of national crisis, we have a Government who are 
solely interested in securing their own re-election. Never has that 
been more apparent than during this year's debate on the Gracious 
Speech.

What we have is a motley collection of Bills assembled not through 
some great vision of a different future for our country, but out of 
pure political expediency, such as the child poverty Bill. We all 
share the goal of eliminating child poverty and we will support the 
Bill, but we all know why the Government have chosen this moment to 
bring the measure forward. They hope that by setting in statute a 
child poverty target for 2020, we will all now forget that they have 
effectively abandoned their child poverty target for 2010. Well, I 
tell them today that we will not let them get away with that one.

Then there is the welfare reform Bill. We all share the goal of 
radical reform for our welfare state, but we know why the Government 
have chosen this moment to bring forward that measure, as well. They 
hope that by rushing to copy Conservative welfare policies, they can 
deny us an opportunity to challenge them over their wasted decade: 11 
years when the number of young people not in education or employment 
has risen, not fallen; when most of the millions of new jobs they are 
always reminding us about have gone to migrant workers, not to 
British people living on benefits; when countless billions of pounds 
have been thrown at the social problems we face and have made 
virtually no difference; and when in the good years, the Prime 
Minister blocked radical reform, when so much more could have been 
done. Well, we will not let them get away with that one, either. As 
the hon. Member for Glasgow, South (Mr. Harris) said on his now 
famous blog last week,
. "what a pity we weren't more radical in our first or second term."

So instead, what do we get? We get a Gracious Speech that is little 
more than a diversion; bad news buried; unpopular plans dropped; good 
ideas pinched; and embarrassing failures masked by high-sounding 
announcements about the future; and a Gracious Speech with only a 
handful of measures, compared with those we have come to expect from 
this Government. This was not a plan for our futures-it was a public 
relations exercise, and a pretty poor one at that."
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HEADLINE NEWS   16.12.08
China's economy hits the wall
It is now clear that, far from being immune to the global financial 
crisis, China is very vulnerable. Its economy may not be hit as hard 
as that of the US. But as a poorer country - with a less resilient 
political system - it could suffer worse, writes Gideon Rachman   (FT)

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POLITICS HOME    16.12 08
COMMENTS
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David Cameron Press Conference

Mr Cameron said that proposals in the Government's white paper on 
welfare reform regarding mothers with pre-school children were 
"shameful" and that his party would be press the government to change 
this aspect.

"This is a shameful proposal it is vital that in this recession that 
we at the very least don't do anything that makes our broken society 
worse.

"We need to help families, not make life harder for them," he said.

"Of course when children are fully into primary school that's the 
right moment to encourage people back into the workplace."

"Trying to do it before the children have even got to primary school, 
I really don't think it's right," he said.

Mr Cameron also criticised the apparent delay in replying to requests 
for the opposition to set up preparation meetings with civil servants 
saying there was "no excuse" for the slow response.

"I hope Gordon Brown will rapidly answer that letter in the 
affirmative. There can be no excuse for delay whatsoever," he said.

More broadly, he said that recent events, including the arrest of 
Damian Green, the failed efficiency drive at the Department for 
Transport and rising debt levels showed that Labour had been in power 
for too long.

"We need change and we need it now. I think the government's failure 
on every front is becoming more and more apparent," he said.

He added: "They are showing all the signs of a government that has 
been in power too long."