TUC: Osborne’s plan going horribly wrong

 TUC general secretary Brendan Barber comments on new economic figures:

"The chancellor’s economic strategy is going horribly wrong. The grand austerity plan is failing to tackle the deficit, causing unemployment to spiral out of control, and is now dragging the country back towards recession.

"Even the most loyal fans of the Chancellor’s plan, from the IMF to the ratings agencies, are urging him to change course and focus on stimulating the economy, rather than pursue reckless austerity measures that are making a second global recession look more likely.

"Unless the government starts focusing on jobs and growth, it could preside over a decade of economic stagnation, with GDP per capita not set to return to pre-recession levels until at least 2016."