Downing Street Says

Asked if the Prime Minister would be saying anything on the GDP figures, the Prime Minister s Spokesman (PMS) replied that we had already seen that the Chancellor had been out this morning speaking on GDP figures. He was not aware of any plans for the Prime Minister to speak on this today.

Asked if the Prime Minister would be making any public appearances today, the PMS replied that it was best to speak to the Prime Minister s constituency office.

Asked if there was anywhere that the Prime Minister would appear before cameras to make a statement on the technical entering of a recession, the PMS replied that firstly he would question the use of the description of technically entering a recession . Secondly the Chancellor commented on the GDP figures this morning.

Asked what the Prime Minister thought about the first quarter of negative growth since 1992, the PMS replied that clearly these were very difficult times for the global economy. In the past year we had seen two unexpected and unprecedented shocks, the worst credit crunch sine the 1930s, and a record surge in energy and food prices. These global shocks were likely to cause recessions in many countries, and it now looked as though our economy was moving into recession as well.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought people should be saving or spending, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister recognised that household budgets were being squeezed by high oil and food prices, and that we were seeing the impact of that on discretionary spending as people tightened their belts and cut back on things like cars, holidays and meals out. But decisions on saving or spending were for individuals according to their own circumstances.

Asked what the Prime Minister was doing about oil prices, the PMS replied that we had made clear that we expected the fall in the price of oil to be reflected on the prices that consumers pay at the pump. The Prime Minister had made this clear repeatedly, including most recently in Swindon two weeks ago.

Put that we were paying more for fuel at a time when other things were coming down, the PMS replied that fuel prices were coming down, and there had been a further decline today.

Asked what the Prime Minister thought of OPEC s decision to cut oil production, the PMS replied that as the Chancellor had said, we were disappointed by the decision to cut production. OPEC obviously needed to consider the impact that the decision would have on the world economy and on those people who had been paying more for their energy bills recently. As we had said before, the current economic crisis affected us all, and we should all take responsibility not to undermine the efforts that had been made to stabilise the global financial system. OPEC obviously had a crucial part to play in the stability and recovery of the global economy.

Asked if the Prime Minister or the Chancellor were making efforts to persuade these countries to take a different approach, the PMS replied that we had met with oil producers in Jeddah earlier in the year, and there would be a further meeting in December.

Asked if the Prime Minister would like to see oil and gas prices decoupled, the PMS replied that people should speak to the Department for Energy and Climate Change on that question.

Put that this was one of the reasons why bills were so high, the PMS replied that there were a number of reasons why bills were high, not least because there was increased global demand.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought that OPEC s decision undermined efforts to stabilise the global economy, the PMS replied that it was important that all decisions taken by oil producers were designed to ensure that there is long term stability in the price of oil and transparency in pricing, and that had a crucial part to play in the overall global economic recovery.

Asked if there had been any discussion of the possibility of having a suspension of trading given the markets were in freefall across Europe, the PMS replied that he was not aware any discussions.

Asked about the Prime Minister s visit to Scotland today, the PMS replied that people would have to speak to the party for operational details of the Prime Minister s movements in Scotland.

Put that this was the old McCavity Prime Minister again, when there was bad news he keeps out of sight, the PMS replied that he did not agree with the premise of the question. The Prime Minister had, as people recognised, been active in recent weeks and months to ensure that we take the necessary steps to ensure that we had the right policies in place to see British people through these difficult economic times.

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» Friday, October 24, 2008

Economy

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