SNP TO PROBE GOVERNMENT BAIL-OUT ACTIONS.

SNP TO PROBE GOVERNMENT BAIL-OUT ACTIONS.


EVIDENCE SUGGESTS PRINTING MONEY WILL NOT WORK

SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie MP has written to the Chancellor and Trade Secretary seeking a detailed assessment of the impact of every bail-out measure announced by the UK Government to help businesses survive the Downing Street depression.

His request comes as the Financial Services Authority warned the UK is facing a deeper recession than predicted as a result of the lack of available credit.

Commenting, Mr Hosie said:

“Despite the flurry of announcements designed to give the impression of doing something, real questions remain as to the effectiveness of the UK Government’s actions.

“Every day, we hear reports of more redundancies and closures. The raft of measures announced to date has simply not worked and businesses are still struggling to get the credit they need to weather this economic storm.

“Business organisations are becoming increasingly vocal in their concern as to what impact measures taken by the UK Government are having. I have written to the Chancellor and Lord Mandelson to seek assurances that the UK Government is not simply throwing away taxpayers money.”

Mr Hosie has also questioned the UK Government’s enthusiasm for quantitative easing, noting that this approach actually saw a decline in bank lending when it was deployed in Japan [1][2]:

“Alistair Darling has written to the Bank of England confirming a framework for quantitative easing – an unsettling sign that printing money is on the cards.

“Recent examples of printing money show that this is an incredibly risky approach.

“Academics and bankers both agree that quantitative easing in Japan resulted in a decrease in lending by banks. Printing money will not solve the problems facing the UK economy – it may well aggravate them.

“Given the appalling track record of the Labour Government on economic policy, I would urge that the Chancellor seek approval from the House of Commons before embarking down this dangerous path.”