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Finance Bill

I am happy to withdraw comments published in the Daily Mail. The point that I was about to make was that the business community, having had a chance to reflect on the Budget, has come to some conclusions, and I was surprised not to hear about them in the Chief Secretary's remarks. A fortnight ago, the Chancellor told us that the Budget was""a balanced package that will send the signal that Britain is open for business."—[Official Report, 22 June 2010; Vol. 512, c. 176.]" In the weeks since, it is fair to say that business has not been hanging out the bunting. The stock market has now recorded its worst quarterly fall for eight years, as it fell to its lowest point for 10 months. Goldman Sachs has warned that tighter fiscal policy now""would make it hard to deliver improving growth for all, or possibly any"" country. The chief economist of the British Chambers of Commerce has said that the scale and severity of the Budget""inevitably increases the danger of an economic setback"." The Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply has said that its managers have""voiced grave concerns that budget cuts and VAT will tip the scales and amplify the likelihood of the UK slipping back into recession"." The confidence of Britain's finance directors has fallen to a 12-month low—just one in four is optimistic, and two thirds say that tighter fiscal policy will hurt their business. Yesterday, the confidence of Britain's supply chain had its largest monthly fall since 1997. It is for those reasons that a wise man once said that""the next government has to recognise the fragility of the economy and not take action which would precipitate a double dip recession leading to more unemployment and even bigger budget deficits."" That was, of course, the Business Secretary in April—once a prophet and now a lost cause.