The things they say

Lord Young, the prime minister’s adviser on enterprise, has told the Cabinet that the economic downturn is an excellent time for new businesses to boost profits and grow because labour is cheap, The Observer newspaper has revealed.

In a report, Young cites statistics from Barclays Bank showing a rise in the number of startup businesses after 2008, at the beginning of the economic crash, to trumpet the point that “a recession can be a good time to grow a business”.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The 2.5 million people still out of work will wonder what planet Lord Young is living on when he claims recessions bring economic gains.

“Not only is the government failing to deal with the living standards crisis, their advisers are revelling in the jobs and wage squeeze that is putting people’s finances under strain.”

Young has form on gaffes. He was forced to quit just months into the government in 2010, after he was overwhelmed by condemnation of his claim that voters had never had it so good during the “so-called recession” due to low interest rates.

www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/may/11/young-recession-cheap-labour