The chancellor Alistair Darling has warned that if the Conservatives win the 2010 election their plans for "further and faster" cuts in public investment will not only threaten Britain's economic recovery but the hi-tech industries on which its future depends.
In an article in yesterday's Guardian he singles out the opportunities that will arise from the shift to a low-carbon economy – provided state investment is behind it.
"Green industries alone could support a further half a million jobs over the next decade," he predicts. It makes government choices in 2010 "crucial to Britain's future".
He also says that the Tory blueprint for balancing the budget mostly through spending cuts is a foolish gamble. "It is only by growing and investing in our key sectors that we will be able to deal with the many global challenges of the coming decades. That is why I reject the idea of a decade of austerity and swingeing cuts of public spending."
The Comment is Free article also fleshes out Labour's determination to align its own future with the enterprise culture Gordon Brown flagged up in his upbeat new year message, which predicted "a decade of prosperity" provided the country keeps its collective nerve.
"The UK is one of the largest economies in the world. We have a great storehouse of strength in our businesses, our science and engineering and our world-class education system. Public investment and private endeavour working hand in hand will help us secure growth in the future. Britain's companies cannot do it on their own," Darling writes. He points to industrial and academic research, with budgets greatly expanded since 1997.
