Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Brown's Labour Isn't Working

People struggling in the real economy took another battering today as unemployment is set to hit the two million mark by Christmas. There's little hope for anyone on the horizon, apart from the banks, as experts warn the devastating impact is only just beginning.

The number of people "out of work" rose by another 164,000 between June and August, to 1.79 million, according to government figures, the biggest rise since 1991.

This is despite the best efforts of the government to manipulate the easy target of unemployment figures and mask the true number of people not working who do not claim benefit.

Unemployment is now set to climb above two million by Christmas. Some forecasts put it at three million the year after. 

Even New Labour union sympathiser, Brendan Barber from Unite, reckons, "There can be no assumption that the people who are losing their jobs will find it easy to get new ones."

Today's figures come as inflation soared to a record 15 year high of 5.2 per cent, even using the government's discredited CPI index, following sharp rises in fuel and food prices.

After leading the way with the £500 billion bank bail-out and pseudo-nationalisation, experts predict the UK will now "lead the way" into world-wide recession.

Meanwhile, Brown is having praise heaped upon him from money-men around the world, as they rushed to join him and throw two trillion pounds of taxpayers cash and unrealistic borrowing to prop up the world economy, according to the Daily Telegraph

But there's little praise in the real world of the real economy, where people are worried sick about losing their jobs, getting work, facing crippling food and fuel bills, while trying to make ends meet struggling with spiralling debt.

Cameron's Conservatives and Salmond's SNP are right to attack the government's past economic record, creating the false boom and then the real gloom of the real economy, which directly affects people's lives. LibDem, Vince Cable, would do well to do likewise or face being labelled Mr "Has Been".

There are few words of comfort from Brown, who said the government would do "all it could to create work and help people maintain their jobs. Unemployment and redundancies are something that we wish to avoid wherever possible." 

Brown should get out into the real economy and the real world a little more often instead of coming out with the same tired old platitudes.

The Saatchi Tory Party 'Labour isn’t working' poster, which helped the downfall of Callaghan and the rise of Thatcher in the 1979 election, came at a time when unemployment stood at a paltry 1.4 million. Those were the days. How times change.

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