Brown optimistic over UK economy

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has painted an optimistic prediction for the economy, saying it was “simply not true” that tough times are ahead.

Gordon Brown is optimistic about the UK’s economic growth

Mr Brown told the Daily Telegraph that the action the government had taken was bringing the economy around.

“We’ve said that the economy will grow by 1.5% next year and more people are moving towards our position,” he said.

Mr Brown’s assessment of the rate of recovery contrasts with the Treasury’s forecasts for annual growth of 1.25%.

And the IMF has made a prediction of 0.9%.

Mr Brown said: “If you have a growth policy for Britain, get unemployment down, get the economy moving forward, then Britain can have upgrowth,” he said.

“I think people have moved closer to our view that Britain is capable of coming back to growth at a higher rate next year than people were originally assuming, and higher rates in the future.”

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Tories want end of bonus culture

sourced from the BBC dated 15/08/09

A Conservative government would seek to stop the payment of large bonuses across the banking system, shadow chancellor George Osborne has said.

The shadow chancellor wants a tougher regulatory system

He told the Guardian that handing out big awards backed by state guarantees was “unacceptable”, even for banks that were not part-owned by the taxpayer.

Such guarantees were meant to allow banks to rebuild balance sheets and aid lending, not reward bankers, he said.

Mr Osborne also renewed his calls for a new financial regulatory system.

“It is totally unacceptable for bank bonuses to be paid on the back of taxpayer guarantees,” he told the paper. “It must stop.”

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