Left-wing Labour MPs, union leaders and bloggers want to plunge the country even deeper into debt

There is a letter in the Guardian this morning criticising Conservative plans to cut public spending and calling for another fiscal stimulus to "secure economic recovery".

It states:

"The government was right to stimulate the economy with a variety of measures last year and so offset some of the worst effects of the recession. Yet, as some of the world's leading economists have pointed out, the fragile nature of the recovery means that fiscal stimulus is still required.... A programme of government investment would not only stimulate the wider economy in the short term, but would increase long-term growth, thereby lowering the debt levels through a higher tax take.

"To this end, we encourage the chancellor to use the forthcoming budget to announce a second fiscal stimulus – especially in housing and transport, where investment has fallen most, and with a focus on developing a low-carbon economy – which would both help to secure economic recovery and create much needed jobs."

Organised by Labour MP Colin Burgon, he has attracted the support of a number of his Left-wing colleagues such as Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, Peter Kilfoyle, Austin Mitchell, Michael Meacher; other well known Lefties and union leaders like Ken Livingstone, Kevin Maguire of the Mirror, Billy Hayes and Tony Woodley; and most of the prominent Labour bloggers including Alex Smith, Will Straw and Sunder Katwala.

Jonathan Isaby