Chancellor warns of threats to stability of UK economy
07/01/2016
Chancellor George Osborne has said that the stability of the UK economy could come under serious threat in 2016.
He said that this year is likely to be one of the toughest since the financial crisis, and that 2016 is “the year of mission critical”, rather than “mission accomplished”.
In his last Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne was positive about the future of the UK economy, claiming that it is “growing fast”.
However, his stance has altered since then, which he has blamed on “an uncertain world”.
Mr Osborne said “It is precisely because we have not abolished boom and bust as a nation, that you need to take these steps, difficult steps and I need to go explaining to the public, that the difficult times aren't over, we have got to go on making the difficult decisions, precisely so that Britain can continue to enjoy the low unemployment and the rising wages that we see at the moment."
‘Cocktail’ of threats
The chancellor is to claim that the UK now faces a ‘cocktail’ of significant new threats, which include slowing growth in China, increasing tension in the Middle East and low commodity prices.
This week alone, oil prices hit an 11-year low and trading in China had to be suspended for the second time in a week after share prices plunged by 7%.
Mr Osborne used these threats as an opportunity to warn against people falling into ‘old habits’ of overspending, as “Britain still has big economic problems that it has to fix”.
He then went on to say that he is “determined to see through the plan that has got the British economy that is in the stronger position that it is in today."
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