Conservatives out of their Depth on the Economy

9.14.00am GMT Thu 25th Feb 2010

"The man who was right on the economy" - Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable

Commenting on George Osborne's widely reported recent lecture, Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman, Vince Cable has pointed to Mr Osborne's lack of understanding of the economy.

Commenting on George Osborne's Mais Lecture, Vince Cable said:

"Osborne's latest economic commentary shows just how out his depth he is when it comes to the important economic issues.

"Slashing spending now could push the economy back into recession and inflict further structural damage on the UK that will make it harder to sustain our credit rating.

"He is at odds with his leader on when cuts should come and fails to appreciate that what the markets are looking for is a credible plan to reduce the deficit, not a willingness to slash regardless of economic conditions.

"In the current climate it is essential that decisions about the speed and timing of tackling the deficit are based on the state of the economy, not political dogma."

Speaking locally Lib Dem spokesman Alan Hilliar said, "Vince Cable, formerly Chief Economist at Shell and widely credited as having predicted the Banking Crisis, is someone who really understands the fundamentals of our economy. Voters locally and nationally should take note and take care, as the damage that could be caused by simplistic election-driven decisions would affect us all. Is that the sort of Change that you want?"