Malcom Bruce: "British manufacturing and farming are in dire straits"

An Ernst and Young sponsored Item Group says manufacturing will shed about half million workers within two years.

Treasury spokesman Malcolm Bruce, who will lead an Opposition day debate on the economy, backed this view.

Half a million manufacturing workers are to lose their jobs, a study warns

"I think if you look on the ground you will see British manufacturing and farming are in dire straits," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Bruce said figures produced by the House of Commons Library showed 420,000 manufacturing jobs would be lost by 2000.

In addition, he predicted 50,000 farming jobs would go. He said this was "reducing employment in this sector to the lowest level since the middle of the last century.

"That is a serious problem, which the government don't seem to be prepared to address."

Mr Bruce added: "We're not talking about a shake-out of inefficient companies, we're talking about business that are unable to compete because the government has pursued policies that have given us unsustainably high interest rates and a high exchange rate, which are destroying businesses that otherwise could be competitive."

The economy debate follows clashes in the Commons between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Conservative leader William Hague last week over job losses at the Rover and Ford car plants.

Stephen Byers: To respond for the government

Chancellor Gordon Brown recently revised his predictions for economic growth downwards, but has refused opposition calls for drastic measures to aid manufacturing.

The Treasury is predicting economic growth will pick up again after slowing due to a worldwide slowdown next year.

The chancellor will not attend the debate in the Commons on Monday, leaving the Treasury Chief Secretary Stephen Byers to respond for the government.

Mr Bruce said: "One would have thought that given his enthusiasm for speaking to the world over the last few months, he [Gordon Brown] might come to the Commons to answer some pretty hard questions, which I understand he's not going to do."

The chancellor has ignored Tory demands in the past week for him to come to the Commons to make an emergency statement on the economy.

He last spoke in the House on 23 July during Question Time, while his last major announcement was on 14 July when he revealed extra spending on health, education and welfare.