Ed Miliband and David Cameron clashed over unemployment during prime minister’s questions today – hours after Nick Clegg warned the UK faces a “stark” economic reality.
Labour leader Ed Miliband focused on the jobless after statistics showed on Wednesday morning unemployment had risen by 80,000 in the three months to July to reaching 2.51 million.
Cameron admitted the figures were disappointing: "These unemployment figures are disappointing: I don't want to hide from that. Every lost job is a tragedy for that family."
But he was accused of complacency by the Labour leader, who said Britain had the lowest growth in the Eurozone excluding Romania and Portugal.
He dismissed Cameron's comment on the government's Work Programme as spin: "People are going to judge the Prime Minister on results. They don't want to hear his spin about the Work Programme. Youth unemployment is up by 78,000 on today's figures. Even after his work programme has started. What young people and their families are asking is where are the jobs?"
Miliband added that Cameron was making the situation harder for women and young people too.
"Youth unemployment was falling at the general election, and it's risen on his watch. It's his responsibility. And women's unemployment, too, is at its highest level since 1988. And Mr Speaker, he's making the situation worse by cutting the childcare tax credit.
"How does it make sense when unemployment is rising for women, to cut the support that helps them back into work?"
In a rowdy session, the Labour leader questioned the government's approach to the economy.
"For every two jobs being cut in the public sector, less than one is being created in the private sector. Isn't that the clearest sign yet that his policy just isn't working?"
But Cameron said the coalition were fixing Labour's mess.
"So now we have it, Mr Speaker: he wants to tell us about the golden inheritance left by the last Government. the fact they completely bust our banking system, the fact they doubled the national debt, the fact they gave us the biggest budget deficit in Europe that we're still recovering from.
"And he can't even be consistent inside one day. This is what he said yesterday to the TUC: he said you cannot spend your way to a new economy."
Nick Clegg, commenting on the unemoployment figures in a speech at the LSE, said the government did not intent to sit on its hands as the economy falters.
“Here in the UK, we are still feeling the pressure. This week we’ve heard that inflation is still high at 4.5 per cent. And, in the last hour, we’ve been told unemployment has risen.”