Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: Cabinet, economy, counter-terrorism and cooking lessons
Cabinet
The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) began by saying that Cabinet this morning met for around one and a half hours. Main items discussed included the usual update on parliamentary business next week from the Chief Whip; an update on where we were in relation to counter-terrorism ahead of the publication of the Counter-Terrorism Bill on Thursday led by Jacqui Smith; a discussion on local area agreements, how central government interacts with local authorities led by Hazel Blears; a discussion on the Obesity Strategy to be published tomorrow led by Alan Johnson and Ed Balls; and an update on where we were with respect to the economy, with Alistair Darling updating on the situation with global financial markets and Northern Rock.
Economy
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about the fall in global stock markets, the PMS replied that what we had seen in relation to the volatility in the financial markets was clearly a global phenomenon originating in the US. The fundamentals of the British economy have remained sound, inflation was low, we had had 61 consecutive quarters of economic growth, and employment was at record highs. So both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor were clear that the Government would do everything in its power to maintain economic stability. That was why we had intervened for example to prevent the problems associated with Northern Rock spreading to other parts of the financial sector. It was also why for example we had taken some tough decisions in relation to public sector pay in order to keep inflation down.
Asked if there had been any concerted action with European partners, or was any being planned, the PMS replied that questions of that nature should be directed to the Treasury or the Bank of England.
Asked if the instability was still a cause for ongoing major concern, the PMS replied that we were seeing volatility in financial markets, but this was a global phenomenon and something that originated in the US. The fundamentals of the British economy remained sound, as the Prime Minister and Chancellor had made clear on numerous occasions, Britain remained well placed to withstand this uncertainty in the global economy. But of course we had to remain vigilant, and that was why the Government would take whatever action was necessary to maintain stability.
Asked on Northern Rock if the Chancellor informed Cabinet of anything beyond his statement to the Stock Market, the PMS replied that it was just an update of where we were.
Asked if the Prime Minister shared the view of the City that we should be urging cuts in interest rates, given that he had said previously that he expected them to be cut, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister had never made any forecast in relation to interest rates, or had ever commented on what the independent Bank of England should do. The Prime Minister thought that these were clearly matters for the Bank of England.
Asked if the Chancellor and Prime Minister had not gone as far to say that Britain was not going into recession, the PMS replied that what they were saying was that Britain was well placed to withstand global economic turbulence of this kind. We had seen events such as this in the past decade - the Asian crisis, the Russian crisis, the bursting of the dot.com bubble, and Britain unique among the major economies, continued to experience growth through that period.
Asked if it was the Prime Minister’s view that the turmoil was not essentially based in the UK economy, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister’s view, and the Chancellor’s, was that this was a phenomenon that originated in the United States. In Britain the fundamentals of our economy remained sound.
Counter-Terrorism
Asked if the Prime Minster had any sense as to the risk he could be taking by pushing ahead without any concessions on 42 days given that both opposition parties and back benchers were against this, the PMS replied that we would have to see what happens in any vote. The Prime Minister talked about this in some of his interviews at the weekend and made clear then the differences between the various participants in this debate were not as great as were sometimes portrayed, and we had to be careful not to exaggerate those differences. There was an emerging consensus around what the principals should be, with many people who participate in this debate accepting that there were circumstances in which it may be necessary to detain people beyond 28 days. The only question that then remained was what were the necessary safeguards that needed to be put in place.
Asked if the Government’s position on this was not fixed ahead of the Bill, or was there still room for further attempts to seek compromise during the passing of the Bill, the PMS replied that the Government would be publishing the Bill with its proposals on Thursday, and those would be the Government’s proposals.
Cooking Lessons
Asked for more information on compulsory cooking lessons in schools, the PMS replied that it was probably better to speak to DCSF. Ed Balls had been out and about this morning giving numerous interviews on this. There was not much more to add to that.
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