Mandelson: We have to prioritise and economise
The business secretary has said the government has to "prioritise and economise"
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By Matt Fortune. |  |
Monday, 14, Sep 2009 01:06
The business secretary has said the government has to "prioritise and economise" to ensure economic recovery.
Speaking at the London School of Economics (LSE) on the state of the economy, Lord Mandelson said "the challenges are formidable but they are not ones that we in the Labour party have been cowed by".
Lord Mandelson said it was vital the government continued spending and investing, saying Labour's policy would mean "new policies not business as usual".
The business secretary also said this was the beginning of New Labour's "fight-back against the Conservatives", saying the party was now the "underdogs", and it was not a question of whether they fought back, but how they fought back.
Lord Mandelson spoke just after Trade Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Brendan Barber had told congress in Liverpool: "Businesses are not investing. Consumers are slow to spend. That's why public spending and state intervention has had to fill the gap."
The business secretary did not say whether cuts would be made to public spending, but did say "it will mean switching resources from lower to higher priority areas which do meet the new challenges".