Economy first, politics second

All three men are pursuing their own political agendas. The Tories know that a strong recovery holds the key to the next election. Labour wants to continue to exploit concerns about living standards. The Liberal Democrats do not want to offend either party because the opinion polls still point to the likelihood of a hung parliament after the next election.

A more considered assessment came from Ian Stewart, the chief economist of accountancy giant Deloitte, who told this newspaper: “This looks like a recovery that has legs and is sustainable.” He added that sustaining the current rates of growth, the fastest pace recorded since 2007 when Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair, will depend on companies having the ability to invest in expansion plans and being able to reward staff with wage rises.

Though Mr Stewart’s confidence will be welcomed by the Treasury, it also offers a timely reminder to George Osborne and others that 
the recovery is still a fragile one and the rate of job-creation in London is not yet being matched across Yorkshire.

It is important that the Chancellor remembers that the North was the first region to slip into the recession – and will be the last to emerge from the deepest slump in post-war history.

As such, Ministers need to be careful, when taking credit for the recovery and rebalancing of the public finances, that their bullishness and optimism is unlikely to be shared by those families struggling 
to make ends meet – or waiting for new jobs to be created in the private sector. The property boom now being experienced in 
London will offer little comfort to them.

Ministers will, however, draw comfort from Mr Stewart’s warning that the private sector holds the key to the recovery. Labour’s plan to restore the 50p rate of tax for high-earners, introduced on the eve of the 2010 election, is clearly a threat to investment plans and must be resisted. In short, the state of the country’s finances are still such that long-term economic considerations need to trump short-term political calculations.

A&E is still in a critical condition

EVEN though the A&E crisis has not been as serious as some experts predicted this winter, there is still no room for complacency judging by the latest analysis of attendance and admission rates at casualty units across the country.

There are two recurring things. First there is still evidence that some NHS trusts are manipulating government targets. This is borne out by statistics purporting to show that 40 per cent of patients in Bradford are admitted to hospital in the 10 minutes before the four-hour A&E waiting time is due to be hit. In Hull, this applies to one third of people attending casualty.

The second concern is the number of people actually seeking treatment in A&E. The number in Wakefield now ranks amongst the highest in the country and is a poor reflection on the availability of out-of-hours care services such as GP appointments.

Both trends show the pressure that hospitals are under as a result of an unprecedented number of people seeking emergency treatment, well-documented financial pressures and staff shortages that actually began under the last government when there was a decline in the number of junior doctors.

It is a “triple whammy” that is only going intensify until health chiefs can put in more robust care plans so A&E staff can prioritise the needs of patients rather than the rigid criteria that have been laid down by the Department of Health in London.

No encore for Aintree hero Auroras

HORSE racing can be the best and worst of sports. It has never shied away from this reality. Its combatants, whether they be horses or jockeys, are never more than a split-second away from calamity and this is epitomised by the fate of the great Auroras Encore.

The first Yorkshire-trained horse to win the Grand National since 1960 when he conquered Aintree last April at odds of 66-1, Sue and Harvey Smith’s stable star was on course to defend his crown when he was discovered to be slightly lame after his race at Doncaster on Saturday. Only yesterday did it emerge that this rags-to-riches horse, a bargain buy whose unexpected success captured the hearts of so many racing fans, had suffered a career-ending injury.

The indomitable Smiths, and big race jockey Ryan Mania, were stoic as they spoke about their sport’s fickleness. But they can still draw immense comfort from the fact that they have won a National and that Auroras Encore will, with luck, have the long retirement he so deserves.

If his reception at last summer’s Great Yorkshire Show is any indicator, he is a horse who is likely to be much in demand when organisers of fetes and countryside events are looking for a four-legged VIP.