The spending row goes on...

Another tough week for government and an acceptance of non-conformist fruit from the EU

As ever, there's been a few more developments in and around the mountainous land behind ExpensesGate. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has said that the next planned review of future spending is likely to be delayed until after the next election. "We are not in a position, in June 2009, to be able to forecast what growth will be and what the performance of the economy will be in 2011,” he said. "That is why we have to wait.”

Looking further into the long-term, PM Brown and Tory protagonist David Cameron clashed a little more. The knives were out, with Cameron accusing the Labour party of being yet more secretive; Brown retaliated by claiming that his opponent's spending plans were based on unemployment – because "because you will do absolutely nothing about it".

Then there's talk of a boost for the manufacturing industry? Amidst the recession (and the bickering), a piece of good news has been made public: the UK's manufacturing output has grown for the first time since last March. While doubts still remain on the durability of any recovery, the CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose from 45.4 in May to 47.0 in June; analysts had forecast smaller improvement to 46.5.

Is a pick-up in sight? Not yet, according to the policymakers. They're being stalwarts as usual, warning that tight credit conditions at home and downturns in other countries' markets still pose huge obstacles to growth.

Only fair that such pragmatism should rule the foreground, when the statistics revealed that the UK economy contracted 2.4 percent in Q1 this year. This decline has not been exceeded in some 51 years, further setting the doom in concrete.

In further cautionary developments, the government's decision to suspend plans to sell part of Royal Mail signified a bucking to public demand. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told the Lords: "Market conditions have made it impossible to conclude the process to identify a partner on terms that would give value for money to the taxpayer."
The part-privatisation had been proposed as part of a package promoting Royal Mail's efficiency. Mandelson continued, "when market conditions change...we will return to the issue." Is this sensible, fastidious or both?

European Commission have acted to simplify EU rules and relax the ban on 'wonky' fruit and vegetables. The tape-cutting move will streamline marketing standards for 26 types of fruit or vegetables, rules that previous prevented oddly-sized or misshapen produce being sold in Europe.