WITH MPs returned to Parliament and the much- hyped cabinet reshuffle complete, it is clear that nothing has changed. Cameron, Osborne, Clegg and Cable are still clinging to plan A, which has taken an economy with 1% growth back into recession.

Despite a one-third devaluation of the pound the Engineering Employers Federation reports negative order books, with domestic and export demand down, so no sign of Cameron’s export- led recovery. The Federation of Small Business states that a third of businesses find their growth plans stunted due to the banks’ failure to lend, and the CBI and chamber of commerce are forecasting a huge rise in unemployment in 2013 as the next round of public-sector jobs are sacrificed in the name of plan A. Little wonder that tax receipts are falling, while public spending and the deficit is rising. Latest figures show the national debt will have risen far faster and higher under Cameron than under Labour in 13 years. Cameron’s reshuffle is like moving the deckchairs on Titanic while ignoring the iceberg.

Councillor Nigel Dix, Montclaire Avenue, Blackwood Council