THE more I read through the letter from the Noble Baroness, the Shadow Leader of the House of Lords in The Forester of October 28, the more astonished I became. I had done my best to forget the people who were responsible for destroying our economy and landing it in the deepest recession since the Second World War. And then up pops the Baroness with a diatribe of inaccurate and misleading statements, in the hope that we might forget who was responsible for landing us in this mess. I could not find a word of contrition for the misery that we all now face in order to retrieve our economy from this catastrophe. We must remember that it was her and her colleagues in the last Labour Government that brought us to this pass. I also wonder why, having failed so dismally, she thinks it conceivable that anyone might risk the remedies she proposes?
It might be useful if I were to correct some important inaccuracies in her letter.
Far from her assertion that we are heading for lower growth, last month saw the largest monthly increase in economic activity for 10 years.
In contrast with her predictions; the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the Forest and Gloucestershire as a whole has actually fallen by 4 per cent during the last year. Child benefit will be lost by those most able to cope without it. The Baroness infers that this is "unfair". The current blanket payout is certainly unfair on the taxpayer, who has had to stump up in order to meet the cost of paying the benefit to people who can afford to do without it. Unfortunately we must all suffer in some way to pull the nation out of debt.
The half-million jobs which the Baroness says will be lost are the non-jobs that were created by the Labour Government in the forlorn hope that they would save their beloved Prime Minister from oblivion. Those non-jobs must now be replaced by real jobs in the private sector, where the wealth will be created and help to lift us out of debt.
The economically illiterate approach proposed in her letter envisages no job losses, borrowing even more and thereby burying us, our children and grandchildren under an even higher mountain of debt. The coalition has grasped the nettle and has won back the confidence of the countries that are able to lend us the funds we need until we recover from this disaster.
I was struck by the defeatist and pessimistic tone of the Baroness's letter. It seems as if she is almost willing the coalition's policies to fail. No doubt she is longing to be able to say "I told you so" and claim a political victory. The plight we are in requires us all to forget the politics and get behind the entrepreneurs and businessmen who have the vigour and vision that can generate a sustained recovery. This is no time for the envy on which Labour thrives. Put it aside for a bit Baroness, even if you disapprove of the riches of the bankers; it is them and hard-working people like them on whom we are depending.
Brian Thornton
Lydney