Country was facing 'national crisis' before budget, admits Oliver Letwin

The country is facing a “national crisis” because of less growth and unemployment, one of David Cameron’s closest Cabinet colleagues has admitted.Oliver Letwin, the Prime Minister’s key policy adviser, revealed that last week’s Budget was thrashed out in reaction to the problem with growth and jobs.
Labour seized on the comments and claimed Mr Letwin had “let the cat out of the bag.”
Mr Letwin told the environmental audit select committee: “Leading up to the recent Budget, we took the view collectively in Cabinet that we faced an immediate national crisis in the form of less growth and jobs than we needed. And we were determined collectively to try to increase that growth and those jobs.”
He said that realization “set in train” a process in which all departments tried to come up with plans to help boost growth – the results of which were seen in last week’s Budget.
Angela Eagle, a shadow Treasury spokesman said: “With unemployment at a 17 year high and the economy contracting at the end of last year, there is a jobs and growth crisis in Britain.
“But it’s a crisis of George Osborne’s own making and the government still seems to be in denial.
“Recognising that there’s a problem is a good start. But there’s no point having crisis talks if you then decide to carry on regardless with a reckless plan that is hurting but isn’t working.”
But the Conservatives shrugged off Mr Letwin’s comments and instead pointed to remarks by Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor.
Mr Balls told the New Statesman: “In retrospect, three years on, it was clear once the financial crisis had hit that people reappraised what their view of trend growth was and – in retrospect – of course there was a structural deficit.”
Matthew Hancock, a Tory backbench MP, said: “At the start of a new fiscal year it is clear that Labour’s economic credibility lies in tatters. After months absurdly claiming Labour managed the economy well, Ed Balls has finally been forced to admit that Labour mismanaged the public finances and went into the financial crisis with a structural deficit.
“So he admitted that the cuts are Labour’s cuts.”