Oliver Letwin, Cabinet Office minister, told a committee of MPs this afternoon that Britain was facing an “immediate national crisis in the form of less growth and jobs than we needed“.
This was why ministers had focused so hard on economic growth in the run-up to the Budget, Mr Letwin told the environmental audit committee.
The words are in a sense a no-brainer as unemployment is indeed rising and GDP fell in the last quarter. But the word “crisis” was a dangerous slip of the tongue by Letwin.
Labour has jumped on the comments, unsurprisingly. Angela Eagle, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Oliver Letwin has let the cat out of the bag again. With unemployment at a 17-year high and the economy contracting, there is a jobs and growth crisis.”
Ministers styled last month’s Budget as a “pro-growth” event although the Office for Budget Reponsibility, indicated that its measures may have no impact on economic growth.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey