PLAN B OR ABANDONING AUSTERITY?

The latest GDP figures don’t make pleasant reading, showing that GDP fell by 0.3% in the last quarter of 2012, this should give further confirmation to most people (including economists) that the Con Dem Coalition Government’s questionable austerity experiment (Plan A) is clearly failing. This has prompted a flurry of calls for a change of approach (Plan B) from all quarters, including the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It’s time for the Chancellor to change course and announce radical growth measures in the Budget which takes place on 20th March.

Austerity is not just not working, it’s actually smothering any prospects of sustained recovery and economic growth. It’s time for some balanced well thought out investment in infrastructure and green energy which will help to create  jobs and provide the key to getting the economy back on track. Plaid Cymru has long advocated a progressive alternative to drastic public sector cuts (and their consequences) in order to stop the UK sliding back into recession and to avoid a whole decade of economic decline.

Plaid Cymru's Treasury spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards MP, said:

"These latest GDP figures signal the latest disaster for a Chancellor whose ideologically-motivated policies make him deaf to all warnings and cautions.

"Tackling the Government deficit and debt should only be done when the economy is growing and confidence is high. Current austerity is strangling any sustained recovery. 

"It looks increasingly likely that the cherished AAA credit rating is in jeopardy making the pain of the Government debt pointless. There is now a real threat of a triple-dip recession and the Chancellor has no choice but to change course.

"We must invest in infrastructure and focus on creating meaningful jobs if we are to get the economy back on track - this is what Plaid Cymru outline in our plans for a Bank of Wales to support SMEs and what we achieved in our recent Budget deal with the Welsh Government.

"Wales is suffering disproportionately as a result of the Coalition's austerity experiment. The Bevan Foundation recently announced that welfare cuts would wipe £100m from the Welsh economy. Real terms cut to benefits will suck demand out of local economies as ordinary families are forced to tighten the purse-strings even more.

"As the Chancellor announces his Budget in March, we in Plaid Cymru will present our alternative economic vision that would generate growth, tackle unemployment, and equip Wales with the powers necessary to have meaningful control over its own economy."