Tuesday 9 March 2010

Questions to the candidates: David Williams on the economy

There is no doubt that we’ve been through tough times recently, but it could have been so much worse. Labour’s fiscal stimulus saved jobs. For those who suffered the personal tragedy of redundancy, we are helping them back to work quickly. We did not pass by on the other side.

Contrast that with the Tories, who would have let the recession run its course, leaving people to sink or swim in the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s.

The Tories fundamentally called it wrong three times. First, they would have let a bank go bust, thereby deepening the banking crisis. Second, to make deep and savage cuts now risks the fragile recovery. Third, having said they would back Labour’s action, they u-turned and bottled taking the tough decisions.

Gordon Brown led the world in tackling the global economic crisis. The Tories proved they cannot be trusted on the economy and we see that writ large with their leadership of Cheshire East Council. They should have been preparing the area for the recovery, but have dithered and delayed. They failed to rebuild Crewe station, they failed to regenerate Crewe town centre and they failed to open up land in Basford that could create thousands of job opportunities.

Unlike the Tory recessions of the 1980s and 1990s we will not leave young people with no hope and no opportunities. Unemployment is not a price worth paying.

Labour is the only party that promises to halve the deficit over four years, whilst continuing to invest in front line services and offering young people the guarantee of an apprenticeship, training, college place or work.

No comments: