Labour

IMF report a very serious warning to the Chancellor - Ed Balls

Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, in response to the IMF’s report on the UK economy, said:

"This is a very serious warning to the Chancellor that urgent action to boost jobs and growth is needed. How much longer must we wait, and how much more damage must be done, before George Osborne finally does the most important u-turn of all?

"The IMF is clear that the Government’s economic plan - Plan A - has failed. They say that weak growth means the Government will miss its debt target and that the Chancellor’s existing policies risk causing permanent damage to the British economy.

"According to the IMF, Britain has the space to adopt a more balanced approach to spending cuts and tax rises to support the jobs and growth we need. Rather than waiting for things to get worse, David Cameron and George Osborne must act now to get the economy moving, get people back to work and so get the deficit down.
 
"The IMF has spent the last year warning Ministers that if things get worse they should introduce temporary tax cuts and more investment in infrastructure, as Labour’s jobs plan has also demanded. Things have got demonstrably worse – the time to act on fiscal policy is now. With Britain now one of just two G20 countries in a double-dip recession and long-term unemployment rising, how much worse do things have to get before the Chancellor finally changes course?"