In These New Times

“This is a time when you have to support the economy,” Darling told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

“You will see us switching our spending priorities to areas which make a difference.”

His comments come ahead of crucial data this week that are expected to show that the British economy shrank in the third quarter after zero growth in the second. The technical definition of a recession is two straight quarters of negative economic growth.

Darling told the paper that the government would embark on large government projects to help prop up the economy, with a “reprioritising” of spending to funnel cash into areas like housing, energy and small businesses.

The government would also press ahead with plans for two new aircraft carriers and a new nuclear deterrent programme, he added.

Other key investments include London’s 2012 Olympic Games, for which the budget is 9.3 billion pounds and Crossrail — a new 16-billion-pound railway line across the capital.

“What I want to avoid is getting ourselves in a position governments have done in the past where you face an immediate problem and cut back on the things the country will need in the future,” Darling added.

Growth figures due Friday are expected to show that the economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the three months to the end of September, compared with the previous quarter, according to market expectations.

Darling vowed that the country would weather the current global economic downturn.

“We will get through this. We will come out the other side,” he said.

Source: AFP European Edition