Politicsliving standardsrecoveryautumn-statement-2013

Autumn Statement 2013: Seven Numbers You Won't Hear George Osborne Mention

Recovery? Numbers You Won't Hear The Chancellor Mention
Mehdi Hasan
Open Image Modal
LEEDS, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne during a visit to AW Hainsworth and Sons on October 25, 2013 in Leeds, England. Official GDP statistics have shown a 0.8% rise in UK economic output, which the chancellor has described as showing that the 'country is on the path to prosperity'. (Photo by Nigel Roddis - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Nigel Roddis via Getty Images

The chancellor George Osborne will rise to the despatch box after 11am on Thursday to present his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons - and to the country.

With the economy - finally! - having returned to growth and with unemployment falling and business confidence rising, he has a good story to tell.

But key questions remain. Is the UK's economic recovery of benefit to everyone, or only a small segment of the population? Why don't we all 'feel' better off, despite the positive GDP figures? And how effective have the chancellor's policies actually been?

Here are seven numbers that George Osborne almost certainly won't mention in his Autumn Statement - but which might help explain why some are still sceptical about his "responsible recovery".

Osborne Autumn Statement Facts
65,000,000,000(01 of07)
Open Image Modal
We'll hear lots on Thursday from George Osborne about how he has cut Britain's record budget deficit - but as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed earlier this year: "A worse economic outlook since November 2010 has pushed up borrowing forecasts for 2014–15 by £65 billion."Yes, the chancellor who constantly berates his Labour opponents for wanting to borrow more is planning on borrowing £65 billion more next year than he had originally planned. Meanwhile, Osborne's critics on the right, such as Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, constantly berate him for allowing his debt and deficit targets to slip. Borrowing is bad, it seems. Unless the chancellor is doing it. (credit:PA)
2.5(02 of07)
Open Image Modal
Despite the 0.8% growth achieved in the third quarter of 2013, the UK economy is still 2.5% smaller than it was before the financial crash in 2008. Compare and contrast with the US economy, where the Obama administration delayed austerity and went with a fiscal stimulus, which is now 5.3% bigger. He won't admit it at the despatch box but this is the slowest economic recovery for 100 years. (credit:PA)
500,000(03 of07)
Open Image Modal
More than half a million Britons have had to turn to food banks to tackle hunger and poverty in the past year, according to a joint report by Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty. Remember: this is supposed to be the seventh-wealthiest country on earth. Yet the number of food bank users trebled between 2012 and 2013, with charities blaming the coalition's cuts to the welfare budget for the rise in demand. The chancellor has yet to visit a single food bank. (credit:PA)
965,000(04 of07)
Open Image Modal
The chancellor will be keen to trumpet the fact that employment is up and unemployment is down. But the fact is that almost a million young people remain out of work. The number of jobless 16-24 year-olds stands at a whopping 965,000. When Osborne took over the reins at the Treasury in May 2010, there were 930,000.Britain, say the coalition's critics, now has its very own 'lost generation'. (credit:PA)
1,000,000(05 of07)
Open Image Modal
And is the rise in employment the pure 'good news' story that Osborne suggests it is? What kind of jobs are people getting? In August, a survey of 1,000 UK employers suggested the number of workers on zero-hours contracts, with no guarantee of work, could be up to a million. That's four times higher than official estimates."People who believe in the free market like myself," Osborne has said, "want that free market to be properly regulated." Perhaps, just perhaps, the chancellor should take another look at our 'flexible' labour market... (credit:PA)
40(06 of07)
Open Image Modal
It's one of Labour's strongest attack lines against the chancellor: the cost of living in the UK has risen faster than wages for 40 out of the 41 months that George Osborne has been in the Treasury. According to Office of National Statistics figures, average earnings have fallen in real terms in every region and nation of the UK, while gas, electricity and fuel bills continue to climb. Osborne has the worst record on living standards of any chancellor in living memory, say Eds Miliband and Balls. Osborne's response? To change the definition of how real wages are measured. (credit:PA)
2018(07 of07)
Open Image Modal
It will take another five years, according to a TUC analysis, for the UK economy to return to its pre-recession peak level of GDP per head (£25,652). Yes, 2018. Or three years after the next general election.Right now, despite the return to growth, we're poorer than we we were before the crash - and before the coalition came to office. "GDP per person is still 0.7 per cent lower than when the coalition took office and 7.5 per cent lower than the UK's peak level in late 2007," says the TUC.Osborne can't get away from the fact that the living standards issue is the weakest link in his armour. (credit:PA)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip