UK Economy "Resilient", Gordon Brown "Committed"

British economy "resilient"

Gordon Brown is committed to "keeping the economy moving" in the face of a tougher global economic climate.

Government plans to increase fuel duty by 2p would be looked at "very, very carefully" over the next few weeks, the PM said in his session with the Liaison Committee. The Chancellor will make the final decision on fuel tax in the autumn.

The Prime Minister said:

"The task at the moment is to keep the economy moving forward. I believe the British economy is far more resilient than it was facing the last two oil shocks and facing some of the problems we had when there was a world downturn in the early 90s."

He warned that the UK must reduce its dependence on oil and invest in other sources of energy, as prices continued to rise.

Mr Brown explained that there is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to make the right strategic decisions to reduce dependency on oil. Tough decisions have been taken on nuclear power and energy efficiency, he said.

The Liaison Committee is a group of senior MPs that has heard evidence from the Prime Minister on matters of public policy since 2002. This is Mr Brown's second apearance in front of the Committee.

ENDS

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