Britannia Radio

The news gets no better even though thoroughly forecast .

It will be even more difficult for Brown to continue to blame world 
events if Britain shows up as  the worst performer amongst major 
economies.

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TELEGRAPH 18.3.09
1. UK recession will be longer and deeper, says IMF
Britain will take longer to recover from the recession than any other 
major economy, according to a leaked International Monetary Fund report.

By Edmund Conway and James Kirkup

The country will have one of the most severe downturns this year, and 
will be the only major economic area still shrinking next year, the 
fund has forecast.

In figures to be published this week, it will warn that the world 
economy will contract for the first time since the Second World War.

The fund forecasts that Britain's economy will also suffer its worst 
post-war decline, shrinking by 3.8 per cent this year, and a further 
0.2 per cent in 2010. The contraction will be among the worst of any 
major country, underlining the extent to which Britain has seen its 
stability shattered by the financial and economic crisis.

By contrast, the US will contract by 2.6 per cent this year and will 
grow 0.2 per cent in 2010, while the world economy will shrink by 0.6 
per cent this year but will rebound by 2.3 per cent in 2010.

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor said: "These IMF forecasts show 
that Britain is set to have the longest recession of all the major 
economies. It is further evidence that Gordon Brown's economic model 
is fundamentally broken and his policies on the recession aren't 
working."

The IMF statistics coincided with a speech by Mervyn King, Governor 
of the Bank of England, in which he warned that the world faced the 
prospect of mass unemployment, and signalled an overhaul of financial 
regulation.

Lord Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, will 
today raise the possibility of a ban on instruments like 
collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) - complex packages of debts 
from many sources.

In a report, he will declare that some financial instruments are 
simply too complicated to be used without unacceptable risks. The 
report will also signal much tighter rules on mortgage lending, 
suggesting a new regulatory regime where the state sets limits, and 
asking whether the FSA should ban some types of mortgage.

Lord Turner has previously signalled a preference for limits based on 
salary multiples.
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2. UK unemployment jumps at fastest pace on record
UK unemployment last month jumped at the fastest pace since records 
began, driving the number of Britons without work to above 2 million 
for the first time since the Labour Government came to power in 1997.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics released today show 
138,400 people joined the dole last month, pushing the number of 
unemployed to 2.03 million.

In a blizzard of terrible data, the number of people who began 
claiming jobless benefits in January was revised higher to 93,500 
from 73,800.

City economists had expected a jump of 84.800 for February and the 
month's increase is the fastest since records began in 1971, and 
leaves the unemployment rate to 6.5pc.

The cuts that began in the crippled financial services industry have 
rapidly spread beyond the Square Mile to construction, retail and 
manufacturing. Broadcaster ITV, engineering group Renishaw and 
manufacturer Meggitt have this month joined the ranks of those 
cutting positions as consumer and business spending evaporates.

"Sharply rising unemployment, along with slowing income growth, seems 
highly likely to increasingly depress consumer spending over the 
coming months," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global 
Insight.

The UK is likely to lose more than a million more jobs over the next 
12 months, according to a report from consultancy company Oxford 
Economics, with the north and the Midlands hit hard. Economists are 
worried that rising unemployment will sharpen the recession as those 
still in work cut their spending.

The Bank of England's David Blanchflower, the most prominent 
economist to deliver an early warning about the threat of recession, 
said last month that unemployment could top 3 million, or 10pc in 
2010. He recommends the government spends billions of pounds on 
public works to create jobs.

UK Treasury Minister Stephen Timms admitted earlier this week that 
Britons face the prospect of much higher unemployment as the 
combination of an ailing banking system and sliding house prices 
depress the economy.

Rising unemployment is being mirrored across the world's major 
economies, with an unemployment rate of 7.9pc in France, 7.2pc in 
Germany, 6.7pc in Italy and 7.6pc in the United States.
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3.- - -  as Tories say Jobcentres only advertise half of vacancies 
[shortened so as not to duplicate above]
[- - - - - - -]the Conservatives claimed that only half of vacancies 
are being advertised in Jobcentres.

By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent

The Tories say the statistics prove that the Government is failing in 
its promise to provide real help for those out of work.

[- - - - - - - - - - -]
But the Tories have discovered that just 53 per cent of the total 
514,000 vacancies were being advertised by Jobcentre Plus in 
December. This proportion has fallen from 66 per cent in November and 
69 per cent in October.

Although half a million posts are unfilled around the country, this 
is the lowest number since records began in 2001.

Separate figures show that an average of 10 people are chasing each 
available vacancy as job losses mount.

In addition, 54 Jobcentre Plus offices have closed since 2002, making 
it even harder for the unemployed to find work in their area.  [Most 
of these closures have been in areas of high unemployment -cs]

The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Theresa May, said: "We 
already know that vacancies in the economy are at a record low. It 
beggars belief that almost half of them aren't available through the 
Government's main employment service. Yet again Gordon Brown's claim 
of real help now has turned out to be nothing more than an empty 
promise."

"Instead of endless spin, Gordon Brown should tackle the credit 
crunch at the heart of this recession. That is why the Government 
should urgently take up our suggestion and introduce a big, bold and 
simple National Loans Guarantee Scheme to get credit flowing again 
which will protect businesses and jobs, helping to stem the tide of 
rising unemployment."