The head of the CBI has dismissed Government boasts about the health of the 海角视频 economy and called on Ministers to develop a serious plan for growth.
On a visit to Newcastle, CBI director-general Tony Danker downplayed Government claims about the country having the fastest-growing economy of top nations, and instead pointed to official forecasts of sluggish growth in 2023 and 2024.
He said that unless there were policies to support more business investment, the 海角视频 would face either 鈥渉igher taxes or austerity鈥 because the country鈥檚 economy would not be able to support all the spending needed on public services.
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And he added there was a risk places like the North East could lose the lead they currently have on the green economy as other countries around the world invest more in renewable energy.
Mr Danker said the economy was caught between 鈥渢ailwinds and heawinds鈥, with companies coming out of Brexit and the pandemic and looking to grow, but facing challenges from inflation, rising energy costs and skill shortages.
And he said that unless something could be done to improve growth levels forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, it would be impossible to improve living standards in the 海角视频.
He said: 鈥淭he Government is caught in a trap, fiscally. The spending pressures are enormous. You鈥檝e got the health service, educational catch-up, transport grinding to a halt post-pandemic: there鈥檚 no end to the spending pressures.
鈥淪o where do you go for money? Tax? We鈥檙e about to put corporate taxes up six points overnight, National Insurance is going up.
鈥淎ll the other things we鈥檇 like to invest in to move our growth rate, the Government is saying we don鈥檛 have the money. Which on the one hand is true, but can you really not invest in future growth? Because if you don鈥檛 move that growth rate higher, either you have permanently high taxes or you start to have austerity.鈥
The Government has defended its economic record, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying this week that the 海角视频 had 鈥渢he fastest exit from Covid of any European economy鈥 and 鈥渢he fastest growth in the G7鈥.
But Mr Danker said that was only true because it was preceeded by the largest economic fall during the pandemic.
He said: 鈥淚t is technically true, depending on how you cut the data, that right now we have the fastest-growing economy in the G7, just as it would鈥檝e been true a year or two ago that we were falling faster than those other countries.
鈥淭aking either the blame or the credit for what is one of the biggest V-shapes in our economic history - I get why you do it in the world of politics but no-one should believe it鈥檚 a statement of any significance for our economy.
鈥淲hat is very important to look at is what the independent Office for Budget Responsibility says for the economy once the V-shape is complete and they say we鈥檙e coming back and staying low.
鈥淭he question is, when we come back to a steady state, what鈥檚 the growth plan? That鈥檚 when the Government needs to really be on the ball.鈥
Mr Danker said last week鈥檚 White Paper on Levelling Up was 鈥済ood in some ways鈥 but that the Government needed to 鈥渇ollow through鈥 by focussing on economic clusters that could drive growth and push up wages and skills.
And he warned that in the green economy, 鈥渢here鈥檚 an absolute danger that the lead we鈥檝e got, we will lose鈥 as other countries invested more in that sector.
