‘Get a grip’, CBI boss slams politicians

The head of the CBI, Britain’s biggest business lobby group, says politicians have become obsessed with personal issues and are losing sight of important economic goals.

Speaking at an industry event on Thursday evening, Richard Lambert gave a stark illustration of growing problems including rising government debt, energy security, and fast-increasing youth unemployment, all of which require urgent attention, he said.

“The time has come for our politicians to get a grip. The UK faces some of the biggest economic, social and environmental challenges of our lifetime – challenges that go right to the very heart of what kind of country we want this to be,” he said.

“Britain finds itself at what you might call a burning platform moment. We can either take the bold steps that will be necessary to take us forward to a prosperous but different kind of future. Or we can pretend to ignore the need for change, and risk going down with the ship.”

The warning came amid tentative signs that the UK’s recession could be drawing to an end. On Thursday the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) estimated growth edged up 0.1 per cent in May after a rise of 0.2 per cent in April.

NIESR director Martin Weale said March had coincided with the trough of the depression, indicating that official figures for the second quarter of the year, due in July, could well show tentative signs of growth.

But chancellor Alistair Darling warned in an interview with The Financial Times that surging oil prices could put the breaks on economic recovery and that there was “no room for complacency”.

Lambert is not convinced: “Instead of focusing on this big picture, politicians appear wholly preoccupied with what’s going on within the Westminster village, and in doing what they can to strengthen their own positions over the short term,” he said.

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By News Desk  on   Jun 12,2009

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CBI    Richard Lambert    economy    get a grip    politicians    Lambert   

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