Graeme Brown was Conservative candidate for Ashton-under-Lyne in 2005 and works for a 'Big Four' accountancy firm.
There was great excitement last week in the financial world as the FTSE 100 moved above 5,000 for the first time since the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago. The FTSE 100 has now increased by more than 40% since March, and many economists and analysts are pointing to rising stock markets across the world as evidence that we are moving out of recession earlier than many people had hoped.
While indeed it is good news for shareholders, employees and anyone with a private pension that the FTSE 100 is rising again, we are danger of ignoring the Labour Government’s terrible record over the FTSE 100, the cradle of much of the nation’s wealth.
The FTSE 100 was formed in January 1984, with a starting level of 1,000. Thirteen years later, when the Major government was defeated, the FTSE 100 had more than quadrupled, to well over 4,000.
The day Labour was elected in May 1997, the FTSE closed at 4,456. Last Friday, September 11th 2009, it closed at 5,011. So after more than 12 years in power, the UK’s main stock market index has risen just 12% under Labour - less than 1% a year.
Compare this to other countries. In the same period from May 1997 to September 2009, the Dow Jones has grown 35%. France’s CAC has grown 40%. The German DAX has grown 60%. Australia’s main index has grown a whopping 80%, a testament to the Howard government’s handling of the Aussie economy.
So why has the UK stock market performed so poorly when compared to our European neighbours and our Anglosphere cousins?
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