Getting Britain back to work

Their sparring over the most effective way of achieving growth may also be a precursor to the next election, but families want to know what the Government will do now to ease their plight as forecasters confirm that Britain is sliding back into a state of recession.

Mr Osborne blames global factors; his Labour opposite number, and prominent West Yorkshire MP, attributes this to the coalitions austerity drive.

In many respects, the Treasury’s leaked announcements over the weekend are an admission of failure – they confirm that insufficient attention has been paid to nurturing growth, irrespective of the eurozone’s tumult.

Yet, while moves to limit January’s above-inflation increases in rail fares should be simple to implement, it is even more important that Mr Osborne’s “credit easing” scheme works from the outset to enable small and medium-sized businesses to borrow money more cheaply. However, three key issues still need to be addressed.

First, the Treasury said that it could underwrite bank loans worth £10bn. Mr Osborne said that this figure could be £40bn. Which is the correct figure?

Second, will the banks – or the Treasury – decide which firms are eligible for such funding and how will it be operated on a daily basis?

Third, will priority be given to firms in Yorkshire to counter the growing North-South jobs divide after experts reported that it will take eight years before employment levels in the region recover to pre-recession levels?

Mr Osborne cannot escape criticism that he has been slow to respond to this region’s needs.

Furthermore, he must recognise that a plethora of funding streams can be counter-productive – his Cabinet colleague, Sir George Young, suggested three schemes that might benefit the longer-term financing of Welcome to Yorkshire, a genuine success story, at a time when greater certainty is paramount.

In short, the Chancellor must explain, clearly, just how he will get Britain back to work – and why his latest policies will succeed where others have failed.