David Miliband writes in today's Daily Mirror:
"Yesterday George Osborne slammed on the economic brakes just as we were starting to emerge from the recession. The verdict on this Budget is simple - it will slow growth and raise unemployment. That verdict comes straight from the Government's own figures.
If the Tories really meant it when they said "we're all in this together", they would follow the Swedish example from the mid-90s where they made halving unemployment the central plank of their deficit reduction plan. There was no such pledge from the Tories - because this Budget was driven by ideology not economic reality. They found money to cut taxes on business profits including the banks, but paid for it by taking money out of manufacturing. And then they increased VAT, cut benefits and slashed spending on Government services by £30billion more than Labour was planning.
All these measures will hit the poorest hardest. George Osborne tried to use the language of fairness to mask a divisive, damaging Budget. Token gestures won't hide the fact that this is a Budget that gives with one hand and punches with the other."
