George Osborne Returns Early from Holiday due to Market Crisis
George Osborne has been on holiday in California, but this has come to an abrupt end. The chancellor has cut his break short so that he can be home to address MPs on Thursday (tomorrow) about the sate of the economy. Information hasn’t been released about what he intends to say, but he will speak the day after Bank of England is expected to slash its growth forecast for the country.
The bank is due to predict in its quarterly inflation report on Wednesday (today) that GDP won’t rise by up to 1.8% this year like it previously predicted in May. GDP growth forecasts have been falling since data has shown the economy grew only 0.2% during the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Treasury insists that Osborne’s tough austerity measures are working, as the country has retained its AAA credit rating, while Standard & Poor’s has stripped the US of its top ranking.
Despite this, the stock market has been crashing in the last week, enduring trading patterns seen during the aftermath of Lehman Brothers’ collapse in 2008. For the first time in the blue chip index’s 27 years, the market experienced a triple point fall on Monday. Banking stocks have been hit the hardest and creating taxpayer losses of £35 billion just between Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Labour Shadow chancellor Ed Balls wondered where the political leadership was for Britain and why the government doesn’t have plans for growth. The prime minister, chancellor and their deputies aren’t here. The Treasury and top four people in No10 are enjoying holidays at the same time, he noted. However, due to the rioting in London that has now lasted for at least four days, many British politicians are cutting their holidays short in order to return and get a better handle on the situation.