Bold thinking is required to lift Britain from the slough of low growth
SIR – Much of the talk about a “technical” recession (report, telegraph.co.uk, February 15) overlooks the true story of GDP.
GDP per capita in Britain has fallen every quarter since early 2022 and is now 1.7 per cent smaller. The Conservatives have presided over the longest contraction of GDP per capita since 1955. A change of government to Labour will not improve this.
It’s scandalous that 4,000 people a day are signed off as “sick”. We can continue to treat this malaise by importing a population the size of Liverpool every year, in the hope that these people will be net contributors to the Exchequer, rather than net beneficiaries – or we can move towards an enterprise economy with a smaller state and harsher outcomes for the workshy. Alternatively, we can hope for a miracle.
Alasdair Ogilvy
Stedham, West Sussex
SIR – Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, is considering scaling back tax cuts in light of the news that Britain is now in recession. But it is in recession in part because of the current high levels of personal and business taxes, which reduce consumption and investment.
We need a prime minister and chancellor who recognise that lower taxes are not something that can only be handed out as a prize, but are rather a core driver of growth.
Nick Denton
East Molesey, Surrey
SIR – The Chancellor says he sees “light at the end of the tunnel”. He should be careful. It may be a train coming. John Catchpole
Beverley, East Yorkshire
SIR – Allister Heath (Comment, February 15) says: “For the first time in my life, I’m now beginning to think Britain is finished.”
I will be 80 soon, have lived here all my life and do not recognise the picture he paints. I can go shopping; I can watch television; I can do all the normal things that people living in Britain do. I’m sure it’s a lot better than it was during the Second World War. Catherine Cave
Raunds, Northamptonshire
SIR – I thought the same as Mr Heath in 1975, when I decided that I had to live in another country. I despaired of three-day weeks, power cuts and cold, dark nights when I arrived home after work, with no hope for the future.
Then what happened? Britons woke up, Margaret Thatcher arrived, the country got to work fixing itself and became the envy of Europe. I look forward to another rejuvenation. Gordon Moore
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
SIR – I too fear that Britain is finished. However, I believe that the economic damage Brexit has done, and continues to do, is a major part of the problem.
Gemma Wright
London SW15