Ned Simons: David Cameron has been rebuked for giving a misleading account of his government's economic record, after he claimed the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said austerity measures were not to blame for the lack of growth.
Yesterday the prime minister delivered a pre-Budget speech in which he insisted the government would not abandon its current economic plan. He lay the blame for the country's economic woes on global factors rather than the policies of the Treasury since 2010.
"As the independent Office for Budget Responsibility has made clear growth has been depressed by the financial crisis, the problems in the Eurozone and a 60 per cent rise in oil prices between August 2010 and April 2011," he said.
"They are absolutely clear that the deficit reduction plan is not responsible. In fact, quite the opposite."
However on Friday Robert Chote, the chairman of the OBR, has writen to Cameron to complain this was misleading.
"For the avoidance of doubt, I think it is important to point out that every forecast published by the OBR since the June 2010 Budget has incorporated the widely held assumption that tax increases and spending cuts reduce economic growth in the short term, " he said.
Yesterday the prime minister delivered a pre-Budget speech in which he insisted the government would not abandon its current economic plan. He lay the blame for the country's economic woes on global factors rather than the policies of the Treasury since 2010.
"As the independent Office for Budget Responsibility has made clear growth has been depressed by the financial crisis, the problems in the Eurozone and a 60 per cent rise in oil prices between August 2010 and April 2011," he said.
"They are absolutely clear that the deficit reduction plan is not responsible. In fact, quite the opposite."
However on Friday Robert Chote, the chairman of the OBR, has writen to Cameron to complain this was misleading.
"For the avoidance of doubt, I think it is important to point out that every forecast published by the OBR since the June 2010 Budget has incorporated the widely held assumption that tax increases and spending cuts reduce economic growth in the short term, " he said.