Government has a reverse Midas touch on economic growth, says TUC

Cheryl Pidgeon

Commenting on the first estimate of GDP growth in Q4 2010 published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics – which shows that GDP output fell by 0.5 percentage points on the quarter –  Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Bad weather or not, these are truly awful figures, much worse than anyone expected. The government has a reverse Midas touch turning respectable growth figures into one of the sharpest falls on record.
“When this collapse works its way into the jobs market the impact will be severe. To implement drastic spending cuts when every sector bar production is in decline will hit business, send unemployment spiralling and make closing the deficit more difficult, not less.
“These figures underline the need for the government to develop a strategy for economic growth. Richard Lambert was absolutely right to identify this gaping hole in government strategy.”

The ONS GDP preliminary estimate is available at www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/gdp0111.pdf