Guiding Britain through tough economic times

Today saw the conclusion of the G8 summit in Japan, which the Prime Minister has hailed for achieving progress, particularly in the areas of climate change, development and trade.

The PM said that securing a free-trade agreement through the Doha talks was vital to stave off growing protectionist sentiment and would provide significant economic benefit - the equivalent of around £200 per family in the UK.

The Prime Minister also noted the progress made at the summit yesterday on climate change and development. All G8 countries agreed to cut emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 for the first time, and new funding was announced to boost agricultural production in developing countries and fight diseases such as HIV AIDS.

So far as British families are concerned, we are seeing the effect of rising global food and fuel prices, just at a time when the global economic slowdown coming from the US housing market is affecting our economy.

In the past Britain was first in and last out of a recession. In the last eleven years we have avoided a recession and we will emerge from this world slowdown stronger and better, both as a country and a government. We shall never take risks with economic stability or return to the days of 15% interest rates under the Tories.

But with Labour, Britain's economy is stronger and more stable than when we have faced these challenges in the past. That is why we can emerge from the global economic slowdown a stronger and more successful country.

To deliver a more prosperous and fairer Britain, Labour is acting now - where we can take action - to help ease the pain of the credit crunch for hard-working families:
• A family tax cut of £120 for 22 million basic rate taxpayers;
• Making an additional one off increase in the Winter Fuel Payment of £100 for over 80s households and £50 to the over 60s;
• Building on our efforts on fuel poverty - which has helped 1.4 million vulnerable households, including the poorest pensioners, to insulate their homes to an adequate standard by providing energy efficiency measures;
• Postponing the planned rise in fuel duty from April to October, saving businesses and families millions of pounds, and promising to look closely at the current factors when deciding whether to go ahead with the planned duty increase in October;
More help for first time buyers struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder by increasing the number of shared equity schemes and making more people eligible for them;
• The Bank of England injection of £50 billion in liquidity into the financial markets in order to help keep mortgage rates as low as possible.

To tackle the global pressures our economy faces, Labour is taking international action to deliver for British families:
• Working with the international community including the European Union, OPEC and the G8 to seek agreement on a new global approach to oil and energy that removes barriers to increase supply;
• Addressing the increases in food prices by seeking a global trade deal and by arguing for a new approach to food policy that eliminates restrictions on trade and encourages a greater focus on improving agricultural production.