This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7894085.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Obama must hold nerve - Mandelson Hold nerve on economy - Mandelson
(about 9 hours later)
The US and UK economies are in an "uncomfortable place" and both nations must hold a "steady nerve", Lord Mandelson is expected to say. The US and UK economies are in an "uncomfortable place" and both nations must hold a "steady nerve", Lord Mandelson has said in a speech.
The business secretary will warn an audience in New York that recovery will take a long time, and urge opposition politicians not to create a "frenzy". The business secretary, who is in New York, warned that recovery will take a long time and it would be "idiocy" to predict when the recovery will begin.
Lord Mandelson will say governments should not make "hurried judgements". He warned against trying to "create a frenzy" around the issues.
Congress has approved US President Barack Obama's $787bn (£548bn) economic stimulus package. His Tory shadow Ken Clarke suggested the comments were aimed at Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Governments on both sides of the Atlantic have been announcing plans on how to cope with the recession.
In the US, Congress has approved President Barack Obama's $787bn (£548bn) economic stimulus package.
But the programme includes a "buy American" clause, which has raised fears in Europe that protectionism could be growing in the world's largest economy. This has been denied by the Obama administration.But the programme includes a "buy American" clause, which has raised fears in Europe that protectionism could be growing in the world's largest economy. This has been denied by the Obama administration.
'No blueprints''No blueprints'
In the UK, Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned that the economy is in a "deep recession".In the UK, Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned that the economy is in a "deep recession".
Schools Secretary Ed Balls, a close ally of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has said it could be the "most serious in 100 years". Speaking to the Council for Foreign Relations, Lord Mandelson said policies were "not capable of producing instant results" and no-one knew which policies would have the fastest effects.
We are going to find a way through, at home and internationally. It will take time. We cannot schedule the recovery, but it will start Lord Mandelson He said there were no "blueprints or precedents" they could refer to adding: "Government needs to take time to plan carefully, although they are constantly accused of dragging their feet because they are not making instant decisions and introducing policies that have instant results".
Speaking to the Council for Foreign Relations, Lord Mandelson will say the world is "facing the re-invention of economic orthodoxy" and that "it cannot be business as usual in politics either". It's clear that even Peter Mandelson is exasperated by Gordon Brown running around like a headless chicken Ken ClarkeShadow business secretary
He will add: "There are no manuals, no blueprints, no precedents to tell us what to do...
"While governments need to take time to plan carefully, they are accused of dragging their feet.
"While, inevitably, measures cannot take effect immediately, there is a demand for instant delivery."
In the UK, the government has reduced the rate of VAT and recapitalised several banks, at a cost of billions of pounds.In the UK, the government has reduced the rate of VAT and recapitalised several banks, at a cost of billions of pounds.
The temporary 2.5% VAT reduction, estimated to have cost £12.5bn, has been criticised by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats as a waste of money.The temporary 2.5% VAT reduction, estimated to have cost £12.5bn, has been criticised by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats as a waste of money.
And a poll of 5,000 small firms by the Federation of Small Businesses last week suggested 97% felt it had made "no impact at all".And a poll of 5,000 small firms by the Federation of Small Businesses last week suggested 97% felt it had made "no impact at all".
But Lord Mandelson will say: "The fact is, recovery is going to be a complex process and while this is difficult for our 24/7 media, and gives plenty of opportunity for our political opponents to exploit, there is no value in trying to create frenzy around these issues everyday. But Lord Mandelson said the fact the recovery would be complex gave political opponents plenty of opportunities to exploit and warned: "There is no value in trying to create frenzy around these issues everyday".
"We are going to find a way through, at home and internationally. It will take time. We cannot schedule the recovery, but it will start. He said both Britain and the US were in "an uncomfortable place in this unfolding drama" as they waited for the first "signs of change".
"In Britain, as in the US, we are in an uncomfortable place in this unfolding drama, post 'first-mover' and pre 'signs of change'."
"As nations, we must keep a steady nerve and cool judgment, constantly refining our policies as necessary. Governments must neither ignore the public's anger and impatience, for example on bank bonuses, nor be pushed into hurried judgments because we fear accusations of indecision.""As nations, we must keep a steady nerve and cool judgment, constantly refining our policies as necessary. Governments must neither ignore the public's anger and impatience, for example on bank bonuses, nor be pushed into hurried judgments because we fear accusations of indecision."
He said anyone who offered predictions about when policies would start to deliver results "frankly is an idiot".
However Mr Clarke suggested Lord Mandelson had gone to New York to give a critique of the prime minister's handling of the recession.
"It's clear that even Peter Mandelson is exasperated by Gordon Brown running around like a headless chicken announcing a daily initiative, instead of sitting down calmly and producing a proper plan to deal with the actual causes of the credit crunch," he said.
"He is quite right to say there is no value in trying to create frenzy around these issues every day. Who can he be referring to if not Gordon Brown?"