Liberal Democrats : The Economy News Feed

]> Liberal Democrats : The Economy News Feed http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy RSS News provided by Liberal Democrats en-gb Fri, 4 Jul 2008 02:15:53 +0100 Copyright Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats In house Darling's growth prediction laughable - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14608 Commenting on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s projection that unemployment in the UK will rise by 100,000 over the next two years, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The OECD is rightly pointing out the economic reality that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling refuse to acknowledge. "It is painful but almost inevitable that the perfect storm of rising prices, over-indebtedness and the credit crunch will lead to higher unemployment. "Alistair Darling’s prediction for growth at the time of the Budget looked unbelievably optimistic. The OECD has shown, it now looks laughable. "Rather than burying its head in the sand the Government must now act to help those struggling to meet rising bills and high debt repayments." Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Deposit protection scheme must be responsibility of banks not taxpayer - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14596 Commenting on Alistair Darling’s proposals aimed at protecting savers’ deposits, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The run on Northern Rock has made it clear that the system of deposit protection must be improved to prevent future runs on banks. "Although it is right that the level of compensation is raised, the Chancellor has clearly buckled under pressure by cutting the maximum level of protection from his original proposal of £100,000, to £50,000. "It is also less than clear whether compensation is 90% of the sum, as now, or 100% as operated following the Northern Rock panic. "If there is to be confidence in the banking system it is critical that there is rapid repayment from the Financial Services Compensation Fund when a bank goes under. "The only way this can happen is for the banks to make ‘up front’ payments into the Fund so that there is a pool of funds to draw on. We must be clear that deposit protection is the responsibility of the banks, not the taxpayer. "The bigger issue now is how vulnerable the banks currently are to a future crisis of confidence, as it is clear that banks have underestimated their losses from a deteriorating housing market. "Since the leading banks are implicitly underwritten by the Government, acting as lender of last resort, we urgently need a clear statement of the process by which failing banks will in future be rescued and/or taken over by the Government." Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Government must act to avoid mass repossessions - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14586 Commenting on reports that mortgage approvals have sunk to a new low, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The housing market has now all but ground to a halt. "With millions of families struggling to make ends meet in the face of massive debts and spiralling food and fuel prices, the only people selling their houses are those who have no choice. "Considering house prices have been seriously overvalued for so long, it is highly likely the slump will continue for the foreseeable future. "With more and more people slipping into negative equity and unable to meet their mortgage repayments, the Government must act to ensure we do not see the mass repossessions which occurred during the last Tory recession." Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 New figures will do nothing for Government's economic credibility - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14573 Commenting on new figures from the Office of National Statistics, which found that the economy is now growing at is slowest rate since the first quarter of 2005, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "This confirms a lot of anecdotal evidence about the extent to which the economy is slowing down. "But there is also quite a lot of evidence that, in the two months after the first quarter, there has been an even steeper decline. "Many households, individuals and companies are now seriously worried about this lethal combination of a rapidly falling housing market and the inflationary impact of oil, food and raw material prices. "The Governor of the Bank of England’s warning last week, that living standards cannot be expected to rise this year, is bleak but realistic. These new figures will do nothing for what little remains of the Government’s credibility on economic management." Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Government must see bigger picture on border security - Huhne http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14558 Commenting on today’s Government decision to drop plans to make families pay a cash bond for relatives who visit from outside the EU, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: "Ministers have simply replaced the punitive bonds scheme with unnecessary threats to poor families. "Instead of penalising family visits, the Government should start looking at the bigger picture on border security. "At a stroke, the reintroduction of exit checks would have a far greater impact on illegal immigration than any amount of bullying of immigrant families." Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Inequality under Labour even worse than Tories - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14557 Commenting on figures released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) that reveal the income gap between the richest and poorest households is widening, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "For all their rhetoric, inequality under Labour is just as bad as under the Tories and wealth inequality is even worse. "These figures show just how wrong the Government was to punish low and middle income workers by abolishing the 10p tax rate in a quest for purely political gain. "It is ludicrous that the poorest people still pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest. We need a fairer tax system which helps struggling families, rather than allowing the rich to take advantage of tax loopholes. "Gordon Brown needs to stop thinking about the have-yachts and more about the have-nots." Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Government must tackle inequality in the private sector - Featherstone http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14552 Commenting ahead of the publication of the Equalities Bill, Liberal Democrat Youth & Equality Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone said: "If the Government genuinely wants to tackle equality it must do more to end the growing discrepancy between the rules on pay for the public and private sector. "We wait to see the fine detail, but without compulsory pay audits for the private sector these proposals will represent a very real victory for the hawks in the cabinet. "Public sector equality rights are fast becoming an ivory tower that private sector employees can only dream of. "A few tick-box questionnaires for government suppliers on their equality policy are going to do little to change the day-to-day opportunities for the 20m people who work in the private sector." Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Greater urgency needed to help those suffering negative equity and repossessions - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14550 Commenting on figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), which show that new mortgage approvals have sunk to a record low, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The data from the BBA confirms what we already know: the housing market is in a state of slump and is set for further falls. "I wish the BBA, which is now facing up to reality, had been equally clear-headed several years ago when it was already becoming clear that reckless, indiscriminate lending was feeding an unsustainable boom in house prices. This was bound to come to a sticky end. "The report should give a greater sense of urgency towards developing mechanisms which can help cushion the effects of the slump on those suffering from negative equity and repossessions, of which I expect numbers to increase dramatically in the months to come." Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Wheels coming off economy built on cheap credit - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14538 Commenting on today’s announcement that inflation has reached 3.3%, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The Bank of England now finds itself backed into a corner with no room for manoeuvre. "We now have a situation worryingly reminiscent of the 1970s, with unemployment and inflation both rising, and growth falling. "The reality is that Gordon Brown’s Government has spent the last ten years pursuing economic growth built on little more than cheap credit. Now that economic times are harder and people are struggling with debt, the wheels are coming off the economy." Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Darling faces 5bn stamp duty hangover - Oakeshott http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14522 <DIV>The Treasury is heading for a £5bn Stamp Duty shortfall due to falling property prices, new research by the Liberal Democrats has found. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Commenting, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Lord Oakeshott said:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"Gordon Brown let Britain's house party get out of control. Now Alistair Darling has been left with a £5bn Stamp Duty hangover.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"The Chancellor had hardly sat down on Budget Day before the housing market fell off a cliff in early April.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"Britain's mortgage famine, after the wild feast led by Northern Rock, means most house sales are now forced and at knock-down prices. In this horrible market you only sell if you have to.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"Commercial property transactions have halved this year and prices are down 15%."</DIV> Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Chancellor tinkering around edges with new powers for the Bank of England - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14515 Commenting on the Chancellor’s proposals to give the Bank of England a statutory role to maintain financial stability, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The Chancellor is trying to talk a good game, but it is still less than clear what meaningful powers he is actually going to give the Bank of England to carry out its new remit. "The big challenges faced by the financial sector can only be met with big solutions, yet the Chancellor is tinkering around the edges of the problem. "Giving the Bank of England powers to intervene once a bank is already failing is in effect slamming the stable door once the horse has bolted. "It is clear the Chancellor has ducked the major issues of who is to be made responsible for controlling capital adequacy requirements over the cycle, and who is to be responsible for monitoring the housing market. "The turbulence in the financial sector needs strong leadership, yet all we have seen from the Chancellor is more mealy-mouthed prevarication." Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Darling must put economic stability ahead of political survival - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14504 Commenting ahead of Alistair Darling’s Mansion House speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The Chancellor must put the stability of the economy ahead of his own political survival. "It is critical that the Governor of the Bank of England is left free to get on with the job of keeping inflation under control without undue pressure from the Treasury. "With economic growth grinding to a halt in the coming months, the Chancellor will face tough choices over the Budget in the face of declining government revenue and pressures on spending. "The Government’s fiscal rules were devised with a purpose and must not be compromised to deal with political problems. "It is only through a careful and considered approach to public spending that the UK will be able to ride out the economic storm." Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Belated Rock investigation welcome - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14498 Commenting on Northern Rock’s confirmation that its new management has launched an investigation into the possibility of taking legal action against the bank’s former board, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "Though belated, this investigation is very welcome. The Liberal Democrats have long argued that the previous board must be held to account, particularly former chief executive Adam Applegarth. "It is ridiculous that Mr Applegarth has been able to spend the last six months whiling away the hours on his £63,000 a month redundancy package, without any investigation into how he got Northern Rock into this mess. "It is essential that this investigation is also extended to Northern Rock’s auditors, who must be held to account for their gross oversights. "Northern Rock Chairman Ron Sandler must ensure no one from the previous administration is allowed to duck the responsibility they hold for the run on Northern Rock." Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Unemployment rise another blow to bruised economy - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14462 Commenting on ONS statistics that reveal unemployment has risen by 38,000 to 1.64 million, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "Like a blow upon a bruise, the near daily revelations about our deteriorating economy are as painful as they are expected. "The reality is that normal people are now paying the price for an economy that Gordon Brown allowed to get hopelessly out of control. "As the housing market and consumer demand continue to fall, it is inevitable that we will see unemployment rise. "Rather than keeping his head in the sand, the Prime Minster must act to deal with Britain’s faltering economy." Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Lloyds deal will leave Northern Rock with low quality debt - Cable http://www.libdems.org.uk/economy/story.html?id=14420 Commenting on today’s announcement that Northern Rock customers will be encouraged to re-mortgage with Lloyds TSB when they come to the end of their deals, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "Selling its best mortgages to Lloyds TSB will leave Northern Rock with only the lowest quality mortgages on its books. "This will help Northern Rock to make its first repayments on the £25bn it owes the Government, but could put later payments at risk. "Ministers have never come clean about Northern Rock’s mortgage book, which I have long believed contains a substantial amount of bad debt. "This deal will not resolve what to do about the awful inheritance from the bank’s previous management, who drove the bank to the wall." Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100