| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
By Hook Or By Crook….Just Don’t Mention The Textbook
This is the Telegraph’s report on the OECD’s conclusions about the UK economy…
OECD head: Britain’s economic recovery ‘a text book example’
George Osborne’s handling of the economic recovery has been “remarkable” and Britain must now stick to his plans and “finish the job”, the head of the OECD has said.
Angel Gurria, General Secretary of the international economic forecaster, congratulated George Osborne on the success of his policies as he hailed Britain as a “text book” example for other nations.
He said that while further cuts are needed, Britain has already done much of the “heavy lifting” and future austerity measures will not need to be as deep.
He said that Britain’s economy is now out-performing the US, adding that his main message to the Chancellor is “well done” and that Britain deserves a “pat on the back”
His comments represent a significant boost to the Conservatives, who have repeatedly warned that Labour could threaten Britain’s recovery.
Mr Gurria said the performance of the labour market had been “remarkable”, with three million jobs created over the past five years. Relative to the size of the UK population, the figures were even better than those recorded in the US over the period, he said.
“Even as unemployment has fallen, inflationary pressures have vanished … real wages are on the rise,” Mr Gurria told a press conference in the Treasury.
“We are predicting this economic expansion will continue this year and next. What a difference effective economic policies can make.”
He added that there are strong signals that wages are starting to rise, but warned that the economic recovery could be in jeopardy unless there are further cuts.
“My main message to you today is well done. Well done so far, Chancellor. But finish the job. Britain has a long term economic plan, but it needs to stick with it.
But he insisted the “biggest single challenge” for the UK – and much of the West – was to improve productivity in the labour force.
“Labour productivity has been weak, even compared to other countries which have also enjoyed solid job creation since 2010, such as Canada and the US,” Mr Gurria said.
“Reviving productivity is thus vital to maintain high growth and boost competitiveness. But it is also essential to boost real wages and purchasing power.”
The BBC however has a different priority…
OECD: Boosting UK productivity is key to prosperity
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says further progress in UK living standards depends on higher productivity.
Interesting that the BBC chooses to go first for ‘living standards’….the Labour Party narrative on the economy.
The BBC grudgingly mentions a few lines of slight praise for the government and economic progress but then starts to put the boot in with more criticism of productivity and living standards and finishes of with a curiously long attack, in a what is relatively short report considering the significance of it, on Public Private Partnerships …here the BBC ends on a very cynical and slyly critical note…
Another criticism is that governments use PPP to hide the extent of infrastructure spending, because it is not entered as normal government borrowing.
The OECD says the government should be more open with the public about this type of funding.
The BBC doesn’t bother telling you that PPPs and PFIs were massively expanded under Labour ….as the BBC told us in 2003:
What are Public Private Partnerships?
Public Private Partnerships are at the heart of the government’s attempts to revive Britain’s public services.
BBC News Online picks through the jargon to explain the bewildering variety of private sector involvement in the public sector.
You might compare the length of the article explaining PPPs and todays article on the OECD’s comments…a very short report today and whilst the Telegraph starts with the good it also reports the qualifications in full whilst the BBC misses out the extent of the praise and emphasises the downsides…. it looks very much like the BBC is trying to play down the praise and play up the negatives today.
Source: http://biasedbbc.org/blog/2015/02/25/by-hook-or-by-crook-just-dont-mention-the-textbook/
