This is a measure of how low Blair-Brown have brought us. And there are still those who would gamble our nation’s existence on leaving New Labour with any power or influence and who believe our economic troubles are over.
Christina
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EVENING STANDARD 8.12.09
UK ‘to drop out of top 10 economies’ by 2015
Hugo Duncan
A leading City think tank today predicted that the UK will drop out of the world's top 10 economies by 2015.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research said Britain (CEBR), currently the seventh-largest economy in the world, will be overtaken by Brazil, Russia, India and Canada by the middle of the next decade. It said even Australia could pass Britain by 2020.
The grim warning came as Chancellor Alistair Darling put the finishing touches to the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) to be published on Wednesday.
Business leaders and economists urged the Chancellor not to raise taxes and cut spending too soon for fear of snuffing out the recovery and driving the UK back into recession. [That is, apart from the majority saying the exact opposite ! -cs]
The UK was the world's fourth-largest economy in 2005 but was overtaken by China in 2006, France in 2008 and Italy this year.
Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the CEBR, said: “In a decade, the UK could have dropped from being number four in the world to being outside the top 10.”
The forecast will not make pleasant reading for the Chancellor ahead of the PBR. Darling will admit that borrowing this year will hit a record £180 billion, or more than 12% of gross domestic product, as tax receipts evaporate and spending soars.
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