Chancellor still confident of sustainable recovery

The Chancellor Alistair Darling has reiterated that Britain will join other leading economies and emerge from recession within the next few months.

In an article in the Guardian, Mr Darling wrote: “I am determined the recovery will be sustainable and lasting, that no one should be consigned to the scrapheap, like so many were in the recessions of the 80s and 90s.”

He added: “The Tories were wrong then, just as they are wrong now - David Cameron and George Osborne appear to wallow in the prospect of swingeing cuts, unwilling to spell out the economic and social consequences of what they plan.”

“In the past 12 months we have committed an additional £5bn to make sure that we don’t leave people to languish on the dole,” he added.

His optimism comes as a survey, conducted by YouGov/Daily Telegraph, suggested that two thirds of Britons say their financial situation should stay the same or improve over the next 12 months.

In the meantime, last week it emerged that UK economy contracted by 0.7% in the April to June period - rather than the 0.8% previously reported.

The upward revision was due to a pick up in the manufacturing, energy, wholesaling and motor vehicle sectors.

Despite of the revised figures, the UK economy is still in recession, while France, Germany and Japan have all emerged from recession after reporting positive growth in the April to June period.

However, there are hopes that the UK economy will experience positive growth in the July to September period.

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