George Osborne ‘getting his excuses in early’ for economic failure, says Labour

Last Updated: January 7, 2016By

George Osborne and John McDonnell. The shadow chancellor argued that it was sensible to borrow to invest when borrowing costs were low [Image: EPA/PA].

McDonnell is right and Osborne is wrong. It’s that simple.

George Osborne is “getting his excuses in early” for economic failure, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has argued, saying he warned his opposite number about global economic threats to the UK economy months ago.

McDonnell was responding to a speech by the chancellor on Thursday in which he said the UK economy faced a “dangerous cocktail of new threats” from abroad, including the falling Chinese stock market and instability in the Middle East.

“I was warning in my first speeches as the shadow chancellor three months ago … of the global problems that we would be experiencing,” McDonnell said on BBC Radio 4’s World at One. “That’s why you need to get your own economy right so you can stand against those problems – those heavy winds that will hit us.”

Osborne told an audience in Cardiff that the turmoil in financial markets – which saw 5% wiped off oil prices on Wednesday – should act as an antidote to the “creeping complacency” about reducing the deficit.

McDonnell said: “The reality is this: [Osborne’s] programme was meant to ensure that we had actually tackled the deficit by this year, eliminate it completely. But we are now going into a situation where the deficit is actually increasing this year, well beyond possibly £10bn.

“What we’re saying is exactly what George Osborne should have done five years ago, which is that you invest. You invest in your infrastructure, you invest in skills, you rebalance your economy and make sure your manufacturing base is working again and then you can stand against the global headwinds that hit you.

“[Osborne has] failed to do that. We’re now facing about £1.5tn of debt, the deficit is increasing, and consumer credit is now rising dramatically.”

Source: George Osborne ‘getting his excuses in early’ for economic failure, says Labour | Politics | The Guardian

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No Comments

  1. Michael Broadhurst January 7, 2016 at 11:54 pm - Reply

    just as expected from this arrogant govt that thinks it knows it all.
    load of toss pots all of them.

  2. Mr.Angry January 8, 2016 at 7:09 am - Reply

    I listened to the idiot’s speech and I wondered how he could stand there and insult the public blaming global issues for his failure as a chancellor. Will he also still blame Labour, he is running out of steam and he knows it but chooses to tell bare face lies yet again.

    What a total shambles this country will be in a few more years, it will not be a united kingdom but a divided one and can no longer be called “Great” Britain

    Te NAO produced updates on major projects this week, what sad reading it was and yet it continues under this Tory regime of destruction.

  3. Terry Davies January 8, 2016 at 8:11 am - Reply

    no surprise that Osborne is in denial of his incompetency as a chancellor.
    maybe in reality its true that he has no control and is being paid under false pretensions.
    What do you think?

  4. Rupert Mitchell (@rupert_rrl) January 8, 2016 at 8:52 am - Reply

    One of the saddest problems with a Conservative party is that as soon as some industry starts to look like running into difficulties, instead of seeking to improve the situation, it just want to cut it out completely with the result that the loss of employment and production for export make a bad situation far worse. Much of our heritage has been either sold off (privatised) or just let go rather than work on improving the situation for the benefit of us all rather than just the already super rich; what a terrible disaster!

  5. John Gaines January 8, 2016 at 10:10 am - Reply

    Consistingly ‘Gardy Loo’ Gideon has used our money to prop up City Crooks and rubbish Corporations, inclusive of useless rag trade geeks who only make the Chinese (his bestest friends) and other slave labour Asian/Indian tawdry products, even M&S can’t sell the crap they are buying and, the reasons are apparent, buying on Credit Terms means they take what they can get and then try to dump this crap on the less wary shoppers.

    All of this useless waste of resources is costing us, not only in CASH terms ( we are Taxed beyond any Legal (so much for the useless EU) or moral basis resulting in great hardship for only one sector of the population while the rest of them enjoy vast incomes as the result of ‘FREE’ MONEY handouts allowing them to prop up already BANKRUPT businesses and distributing ‘SKUNK’ Bonds thus raising even more illegal Funds via indebting this Nation, which will have to pay for them when these swindleers can wring no further cash from the empty shells they call Corporations, sick milch Cows would be a more approbiate description.

    City and political swindlers should be hung upon meat hooks.

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