Reply #9: Labour's "spending" had nothing to do with the downturn!

[depakid]

and Greece is a completely different situation involving issues of accounting fraud and the inflexibility of monetary policy with a unified regional currency.

(Technically, of course, the UK isn't in a recession- though people we know in England and Wales certainly say it feels like it and employment prospects are dim with the official rate hovering around 8%).

About the dumbest thing a government can do in a downturn with employment numbers like these is to engage in massive spending and service cuts- with attendant layoffs as it looks like you're about to find out the hard way.