Gordon Brown's lost his marbles
GORDON Brown was last night accused of “losing his marbles” after hailing Britain’s bloodbath of job cuts as the “birth pangs of a new global order”.
In a speech that risked a furious backlash, the Prime Minister said the recession was his opportunity to forge a new global financial system.
Astonishingly, Mr Brown even claimed to have predicted the current financial crisis 10 years ago. His boasts came as the tally of jobs axed or under threat this month hit 50,000.
In one of the most devastating days since the economic downturn took hold, steel giant Corus confirmed the loss of 2,500 UK jobs and electronics manufacturer Philips announced 6,000 redundancies worldwide.
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We could view the threats and challenges we face today as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order.
Theresa May, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “It is now clear that unemployment is fast becoming our number one political and economic issue and I fear this is yet more evidence that Labour’s attempts at tackling the recession aren’t working.”
Tory MP David Davies said: “The Prime Minister’s words indicate that he is losing his marbles as well as the economy. Gordon Brown is the last person anyone would want in charge of a new world order.”
Mr Brown used a speech to foreign journalists in London to set out his ambitious plans for the world financial system ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders in April.
He said: “We could view the threats and challenges we face today as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order.”
World leaders faced a task that was “nothing less than making the transition through a new internationalism to the benefits of an expanding global society”.
And claiming to have forecast the crisis, Mr Brown said: “As I said in Harvard 10 years ago, we need an early warning system so that international financial flows are properly monitored.
“For a decade I have said that the current patchwork arrangement is inadequate.”
As Mr Brown spoke, jobs were being slashed across the country.
Corus said it was axing 2,500 posts, in a cost-cutting move described by unions as a body blow for UK manufacturing.
The cuts, at plants in South Wales, the Midlands and South Yorkshire, following a huge slump in demand for steel worldwide.
Philips also announced 6,000 redun dancies worldwide as part of a major restructuring exercise, although it is not known yet how many jobs in Britain will be affected.
Elsewhere yesterday, administrators were called in at shoe chains Barratts and PriceLess, putting 5,450 jobs at risk, while shares at parent company Stylo were suspended.
Administrators Deloitte said the company’s 400 stores would continue to trade as normal while a solution was worked out.
In further bleak news, another 36 branches of struggling childrenswear firm Adams were shut with the loss of 267 posts. It follows the closure of 111 Adams stores and 850 redundancies earlier this month.
Furniture business Land of Lea ther laid off 95 staff yesterday after announcing the closure of 33 more branches, while Ulster Bank said 750 jobs would be lost across the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic announced it was introducing a pay freeze for all staff in an effort to ensure the company could “remain strong during a period of lower demand for air travel”.
But in a rare glimmer of good news, fast-food chain McDonalds reported its best ever year in the UK.
