Today's figures are very disappointing and will further erode the one single thing that is fundamental in our journey back into positive territory and that is consumer confidence. The falls in isolation are not material, however the sound bytes and media spin will make a double dip recession a self-fulfilling prophecy without government intervention.
Remarks made today by the leader of the opposition saying, "Arrogant, posh boys just don't get it" will do nothing to keep the figures away from the front pages in the morning and instill any confidence in the wider economy that the government is capable of addressing the problem anytime soon. Businesses need to feel comfortable in employing staff taking on new projects and new work. Currently that is not happening and today’s news will further dampen the spirits in the SME sector. Access to liquidity that is often hailed as the cause of the downturn in the business sector is simply not true with the much-maligned Project Merlin only narrowly missing its targets on bank lending to UK businesses and institutions such as SBF having an abundance of monies to lend to support businesses that can see opportunity where competitors see threat.