‘UK has fastest-growing economy’

Britain’s economy is recovering more quickly than those of every other major developed country, writes The Daily Telegraph after the International Monetary Fund upgraded its growth forecast to 3.2 per cent this year and 2.7 per cent in 2015.
For the conservative daily, the figures are “a vindication of George Osborne’s economic plan” just a year after the IMF itself warned the Tory chancellor was “playing with fire” with an austerity budget and needed a “Plan B” to stimulate growth.
Critics said there was little to celebrate, though. In The Guardian, shadow chancellor Ed Balls argues “GDP per head won’t recover to where it was for around another three years – in other words, a lost decade for living standards.” —

Hoping tax cuts at the very top will trickle down, a race to the bottom on wages, Treasury opposition to a proper industrial strategy, and flirting with exit from the European Union cannot be the right prescription for Britain. We need a different approach to deal with the deep-seated cost-of-living crisis, build a stronger and more balanced recovery, and tackle the substantial deficit the next government will face.