Labour, don’t stand by while English lies

• Marty G
• 14 years ago
• Categories: bill english, Economy, labour
• Tags: GDP

I am flabbergasted that Labour has remained silent on Bill English’s repeated lie that the economy grew just 0.9% a year in Labour’s last term in government. This is your reputation and your legacy the little creep is lying about, guys. Stand up for yourselves. Where is David Cunliffe?

GDP did not grow by just 0.9% a year on average in the three years to September 2008 as English claims. It grew at 1.7%, nearly double English’s lie. It would have been even higher if not for the global recession at the end.

Compare that to English’s record of -2.2% growth in his first year in office, including a miserable 0.2% growth in the June and September quarters while countries like Australia, the US, and UK have had growth rates over over 1% per quarter. We should be experiencing strong growth too coming out of a recession, if only National had managed the economy properly and put a stimulus package in place. Instead, our economy is still losing jobs while unemployment rates decline everywhere else.

Come on Labour, have some pride in your achievements and set the record straight. If you don’t, English’s lie will become the truth.