David Cameron’s warning of another global recession could help the Tories

The Prime Minister cautions that we are on the brink of another global economic meltdown, but this could be politically expedient for his party.

By Anoosh Chakelian

(Photo By David Cameron says "red warning lights" are flashing for another economic crunch. Photo: Getty)

David Cameron warns that we could be on the verge of another global recession. He refers to “red warning lights” flashing once again signalling another economic meltdown could be on the way, in an article for the Guardian. His opening paragraph reads:

Six years on from the financial crash that brought the world to its knees, red warning lights are once again flashing on the dashboard of the global economy.

In the piece, he writes of the economy worldwide potentially slowing down due to current affairs crises such as the ebola outbreak, the tempestuous situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, the eurozone’s difficulties, and slow growth in emerging markets, as well as mentioning “stalled” global trade talks.

Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Chris Leslie, has responded to this article suggesting Cameron is simply “making excuses for slower growth”, referring to borrowing “going up so far this year” and exports falling “behind our competitors”.

However, the Prime Minister’s intervention is a tricky one for his opponents, because it is politically expedient for the Conservatives to suggest that the global economy remains precarious. Throughout his piece, Cameron uses the phrase “long-term plan”, which is a clear echo of the Tories’ slogan du jour “long-term economic plan”. The way the party is fighting the upcoming election is to suggest that the only path to achieving financial stability is to stick with the government that has been tackling, with some effect, our economic problems for over four years, and not to risk changing the strategy by voting in a different party.

Cameron is undoubtedly preparing the country for the Chancellor having to explain, in the imminent Autumn Statement, awkward figures like why borrowing is increasing, and any corresponding harsh economic policies. However, as elements of a national economic recovery set in, and the Tories creep ahead in the polls, it seems the fact that they are still more trusted than the Labour party on the economy means that warning of future external destabilising factors could work in their favour. It has the added benefit of putting the economy, on which the Tories can speak with some authority, back at the top of the political agenda, as opposed to Ukip-friendly subjects such as immigration and Europe.