Hard times ahead warns Darling

8:44am Saturday 30th August 2008

Britain's economic downturn will be "more profound and long-lasting" than expected amid the worst global economic conditions for 60 years, Alistair Darling has warned.

The Chancellor also admitted that ministers were partly to blame for voters' frustration because they had "patently" failed to explain the problems.

The comments are the Government's grimmest assessment yet of the situation, and come after a Bank of England policymaker warned that unemployment could hit two million by Christmas.

In a candid interview with the Guardian, Mr Darling said that the economic times faced by Britain and the rest of the world "are arguably the worst they've been in 60 years".

Emphasising the gloom, he adds: "I think it's going to be more profound and long-lasting than people thought."

Mr Darling said the Government had its "work cut out" to persuade the public that it deserved another term in power.

"This coming 12 months will be the most difficult 12 months the Labour Party has had in a generation, quite frankly," he said. "We've got to rediscover that zeal which won three elections, and that is a huge problem for us at the moment.

"We really have to make our minds up; are we ready to try and persuade this country to support us for another term? Because the next 12 months are critical. It's still there to play for."

The Chancellor played down the prospects of an early reshuffle by Gordon Brown, and speculation that he could lose his job when the Prime Minister does shake up his team.

"You can't be chopping and changing people that often," he says. "I mean, undoubtedly at some stage before the end of the Parliament he will want to do a reshuffle, but I'm not expecting one imminently. I do not think there will be a reshuffle."