Labour Needs Better Response To Economic Growth
Updated: 4:50pm UK, Tuesday 28 January 2014
When does good growth turn bad? Statistics showing the UK economy is growing at the fastest rate since the financial crash have been met by a wall of warnings.
Growth - 0.7% in the final quarter - is unbalanced and unsustainable.
The recovery is fragile because it is driven by consumer spending and house prices (in other words - debt).
Weak exports and business investment could mean it is short lived.
This is undoubtedly true, but one thing is more certain: the wrong type of growth is still better than no growth at all.
For the Conservatives, four quarters of sustained growth means the economic plan is working.
But what does it mean for Labour?
This was Ed Balls' response: "Today's growth figures are welcome and long overdue after three damaging years of flatlining. But for working people facing a cost-of-living crisis this is still no recovery at all.
"Wages are now down £1,600 a year after inflation under David Cameron and tax and benefit changes since 2010 have left families worse off by an average of £891 this year.
"And with business investment still weak, construction output down and housing demand outstripping housing supply, this is not yet a recovery that is built to last."
Remarkably similar to a statement by the shadow chancellor sent last November, beginning: "After three damaging years of flatlining", discussing the "cost-of-living crisis" and calling for "a recovery that's built to last".
On the surface, there's nothing controversial about the similarity.
However, the November email prompted a much-discussed leaked exchange by two of Ed Miliband's closest advisers.
Torsten Bell - Mr Miliband's chief economic adviser - forwarded the statement to Labour's head of strategy, Greg Beales.
He wrote: "As an example of why we're having problems on EB (Ed Balls) messaging - this is his current three part argument: Cost of living; Recovery built to last; Economy works for working people. Nightmare."
Mr Beales replied: "When did built to last become a part of our thing?"
This means "built to last" has finally been adopted wholeheartedly by Ed Miliband's inner circle, or Labour is still split on its economic messaging.
Either way the Opposition needs to work out a consistent and convincing way to respond to improving economic news.
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