02/02/2010

Osborne's 'Solid' Economy Plans

Government plans to halve the budget deficit within four year are not "credible", Tory Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said today.

Mr Osborne said a Conservative government would rebuild the UK economy on "more solid" foundations.

Savings, exports and greater enterprise should form the basis of an economic recovery, he told senior backbench MPs.

Mr Osborne said Labour's plans for growth propped up by "public and private debt" was "severely unbalanced".

The Shadow Chancellor defended criticism from Labour that the new Tory economic model was not clear enough for the City.

He said the government had been "right to have run a large deficit... I think it has been essential for us to have the recovery that is necessary for the economy".

Mr Osborne claimed his party would aim to "eliminate a large part" of the £178bn UK budget deficit over the next Parliament.

He said "fiscal tightening" needed to be coordinated with the Bank of England, suggesting Labour's four-year plan to halve the deficit was "not regarded as credible".

Mr Osborne said growth lay in widening infrastructure such as broadband and light rail systems and bolstering UK exports.

He conceded Tory spending cuts could begin this year, should the party win the general election.

The thrust of his plans is to increase the role of the private sector and creating a "safer banking system".

(PR/BMcC)

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