Jobs and growth

Lord Ashcroft's survey of 13,000 voters in 41 Conservative-held marginal seats makes for interesting reading. 66% of voters surveyed listed the economy and jobs as a top concern - more than twice the number who listed the deficit (32%). The NHS and immigration were also listed as higher priorities than cutting the deficit.

There's no doubt that we need to work extremely hard to win back trust and economic credibility, and a deficit reduction strategy will need to be a central part of that recovery. But we also need to turn up the volume when we talk about growth and job creation. Ed Miliband is right to focus again and again on the "squeezed middle". These are the voters for whom job security is a really big issue - whether they work in the public or private sector. A growing economy not only creates new jobs, but it also secures existing jobs. Labour needs a credible plan for growth as much as it needs a deficit plan.