NEW YOR: Lib Dem cabinet minister Vince Cable has said the government cannot be complacent about the economy despite growing signs of a recovery, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday.
The business secretary said he and other ministers “can’t rest on our laurels” and “a few quarters of good economic data” did not mean the country was out of the danger zone.
Chancellor George Osborne recently suggested the United Kingdom is “turning a corner.”
But Labour says millions feel insecure, with living standards still squeezed.
The latest unemployment figures showed a continued fall in the number of people out of work to below 2.5 million — although there was a rise in youth unemployment and the numbers in part-time work.
In a speech to a CBI conference at Warwick University, Cable said it was not “difficult to see evidence of confidence returning.”
There were “positive trends” in manufacturing and export growth which pointed to “the beginnings of a recovery story,” he said.
But efforts to create more balanced and sustainable growth, rather than relying on growth in the City and the property market, “won’t simply emerge of its own volition,” he added.
“In fact, I see a number of dangers. One is complacency, generated by a few quarters of good economic data,” Cable said.
“There are risks, not least the housing market getting out of control.
“Recovery will not be meaningful until we see strong and sustained business investment, and this… as a share of GDP, is currently the lowest in the G7.”
Speaking to the BBC earlier on Wednesday, Cable said the recovery was a “marathon, not a sprint” and it was “going to take a long time to get the British economy on the right track” and to rectify the mistakes made by previous governments.
He denied Labour suggestions that he was at odds with Osborne and said he agreed with the chancellor that the opposition’s criticism of the government’s strategy and its call for a “Plan B” had been proved wrong.
But shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna said Cable’s speech was an “embarrassing slapdown” to the chancellor.
“It also reminds everyone that you can’t trust a word the Lib Dems say,” he added. “Vince Cable has supported the chancellor’s policies, which choked off the recovery in 2010.”
“Three wasted years of flatlining that has left families worse off and done long-term damage to our economy is his record and he should take responsibility for it.”