Tories slam Brown’s ‘economic incompetence’

The Conservative Party has criticised prime minister Gordon Brown for what it claims has been “economic incompetence” over the past decade.

Speaking at the London School of Economics, the Tories’ treasury spokesperson George Osborne insisted that Mr Brown has failed to protect the national economy and that the country is “not prepared if rainy days lie ahead”.

Many thousands of people around the country are facing serious debt management issues and Mr Osborne maintained that the recent run on the Northern Rock bank could be blamed on the prime minister’s system of financial oversight.

“Gordon Brown likes to quote the Bible, but he obviously doesn’t know about the story in Genesis of the pharaoh who was warned to use the seven fat years to prepare for the seven lean years – and did,” said Mr Osborne.

“Well our prime minister was also warned in the fat years to prepare for the lean years – but he set nothing aside. Now most say the lean years are here, the cupboard is bare and Britain is vulnerable.”

Data compiled by the Grant Thornton accountancy firm last year showed that the UK’s debt management burden is currently worth more than its annual gross domestic product.