Labour: Worrying times for the economy
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls responds to 2011's third quarter GDP figure of 0.5%:
"These are really worrying times for families and pensioners struggling to pay the bills, young people out of work in record numbers and businesses on the edge.
"The combination of sluggish growth, rising unemployment, falling confidence and the latest surveys indicating a contracting manufacturing sector and depressed business confidence mean this is no time for complacency from the government.
"We now urgently need Labour's five point plan for jobs and growth to help struggling families, get young people back to work and support small businesses.
"The reckless thing to do is plough on regardless with a plan that isn’t working, the cautious thing to do on basis of all the evidence of this significant slowdown is to act now."
