Let Greece be a lesson - Vote Tory! says George Osborne

George Osborne says the Greek election of a left-wing anti-austerity government should be seen as a warning to British voters thinking of backing Ed Miliband in the UK general election because it could lead to economic chaos.

It might be stretching credulity to breaking point, but the Chancellor told Radio 4’s Today programme that there was a lesson to be learned from the Greek elections for voters in the British elections - to stick with the current Tory/Lib Dem Coalition economic policies.

Osborne said higher public spending like the new Greek Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras (and Miliband) is promising was "a panacea, it is false hope".

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

He dismissed the idea that the Greek elections showed that people are sick of austerity. “I think people get tired of economic failure,” said Osborne. “They get tired of rising unemployment and in the UK, returning to economic chaos would see higher unemployment. The lesson for us is to continue to work through the plan that is working.”

Osborne also heavily criticised the eurozone for failing to implement the structural reforms (such as making Europe more competitive, ie cutting workers' rights) that he reckons have helped to bring growth to the UK economy.

He also warned that Britain needs stability in Europe for its own exports to the EU and urged both sides to "show responsibility" in dealing with the Greeks.

Osborne is in Cornwall today banging the drum for the economy which David Cameron is hoping will give him victory on the central message - don't let Labour wreck it again.

It takes a general election for the Chancellor to get down and gritty with a crab fisherman. He tweeted this morning: "Started day in Newquay with Cornish fisherman Phil who's been crab fishing here for 40 years."

Cameron is also due today to commit the Tories to further tax cuts if they are re-elected. The Guardian reports that he will say the general election represents a great "tax moment” and that he is "passionate" about tax cuts because "it's your money" and "a reward for years of sacrifice" under the Tories' austerity measures.

Ed Balls, the Labour shadow chancellor, and Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, both say phooey - it is irresponsible to be offering tax cuts while the British economy is still in the mire and we’re struggling to deal with rising youth unemployment, the embattled NHS and the growing burden of the increasingly elderly population.

Cameron, however, is clearly focusing on the middle-class Tories who are threatening to vote Ukip. Tax cuts worked under Thatcher and the Tories are counting on it working again. There could not be a starker contrast with what is on offer in Athens.