Published on Dec 5, 2012 by Euronews
http://www.euronews.com/ The latest update on Britain's economy confirms it is performing worse than expected.
Finance minister George Osborne insisted that the economy is healing, but said there are no quick fixes.
In a budget update to parliament, he had to admit that higher government borrowing means spending cuts and tax rises will last for another six years - beyond the next election in 2015.
Osborne was jeered by opposition politicians as he was forced to announce the UK economy will shrink this year by 0.1 percent.
Just nine months ago he had forecast it would grow by 0.8 percent.
The economy was now forecast to grow by only 1.2 percent in 2013, well down from the 2.0 percent predicted in March, Osborne said, citing figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which is the independent fiscal watchdog.
....Finance minister George Osborne insisted that the economy is healing, but said there are no quick fixes.
In a budget update to parliament, he had to admit that higher government borrowing means spending cuts and tax rises will last for another six years - beyond the next election in 2015.
Osborne was jeered by opposition politicians as he was forced to announce the UK economy will shrink this year by 0.1 percent.
Just nine months ago he had forecast it would grow by 0.8 percent.
The economy was now forecast to grow by only 1.2 percent in 2013, well down from the 2.0 percent predicted in March, Osborne said, citing figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which is the independent fiscal watchdog.
