UK Budget gets Approval from G20 Summit

David Cameron, the UK’s new Prime Minister, has insisted that the G20 summit backs their strategy for reducing the nation’s budget deficit. He says that G8 and G20 both agree that the speed and timing of cutting nations’ deficits will vary depending on their individual circumstances. Cameron, while talking to the Commons, also called the verdict of the summit unequivocal. He said that they agreed that nations with the largest deficits need to act right away. They specifically welcomed their budget plan, he added, since the UK has one of the biggest deficits in the group.

Acting Labour leader Harriett Harman, however, slammed Cameron’s claim. She says that the G20 didn’t justify his decision to further cut the deficit in a shorter amount of time than what was previously planned by Labour. The summit wants growth-friendly consolidation and questions how cutting back on investment in high-tech export-orientated British firms, scrapping regional development agencies and cutting investment allowances for manufacturing companies is growth-friendly, she continued. Harman added that the G20′s conclusion was to agree to disagree.

Cameron also stated that the argument that cutting the deficit and growth are mutually exclusive is wrong. The summit agreed that the world needs to maximize growth through reducing deficits, tackling imbalances and structural reform, he continued. G20 has committed to reduce national deficits in half by at least 2013, he added, and to stabilize government debt to GDP ratios by 2016.

Chancellor George Osborne was positive about the G20 summit too. He said that everyone has an understanding of the crisis’s impact and the importance of having credible, serious plans to live within their means.