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date: 25 January 2011

embargo: for immediate release

Government has a reverse Midas touch on economic growth, says TUC

Commenting on the first estimate of GDP growth in Q4 2010 published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics - which shows that GDP output fell by 0.5 percentage points on the quarter - TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'Bad weather or not, these are truly awful figures, much worse than anyone expected. The government has a reverse Midas touch turning respectable growth figures into one of the sharpest falls on record.

'When this collapse works its way into the jobs market the impact will be severe. To implement drastic spending cuts when every sector bar production is in decline will hit business, send unemployment spiralling and make closing the deficit more difficult, not less.

'These figures underline the need for the government to develop a strategy for economic growth. Richard Lambert was absolutely right to identify this gaping hole in government strategy.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The ONS GDP preliminary estimate is available at www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/gdp0111.pdf

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: egibson@tuc.org.uk

Press release (300 words) issued 25 Jan 2011