George Osborne dismissed any notions of an economic “Plan B” or a partially Liberal Democrat backed “Plan A plus”, as the Chancellor expressed a confidence in the UK’s recovery, especially in comparison to the problems that Italy, Spain and France have been facing.
In a speech to the Lloyds Insurance Market in London yesterday, Osborne was upbeat and defiant as the perils of some European markets continued into Wednesday.
Britain was said by Osborne to be a “master of its own destiny” due to the fact the economic recovery plan was designed for tough times anyway and was not at the mercy of the markets.
Short term expectations with regards to growth, he conceded, would have to be revised down, in line with all countries across Europe. This is expected to be included in an autumn statement released at the end of November, which will also showcase new measures aimed at boosting growth.
However the Chancellor admitted that the UK wasn’t totally immune from turbulent activity across the channel, but could still largely control its own future down to its tough austerity measures implemented early on.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls was less happy with the Chancellor’s assertions and has repeated calls for bankers’ bonuses to be taxed and for the money made to be pumped in to job schemes for young people.