UK facing 'burning platform' moment

British politicians need to get a grip and start trying to sort out the huge problems faced by the country, the head of Britain's biggest employers' group said yesterday.

In an unusually frank assessment of Britain's prospects, Confederation of British Industry director general Richard Lambert said problems like soaring government debt, energy security and youth unemployment had to be tackled urgently.

The comments are likely to raise speculation that the CBI is throwing its weight against Prime Minister Gordon Brown ahead of an election due by next year just when his Labour Party is well behind in the polls.

"Britain finds itself at what you might call a burning platform moment. We can either take the bold steps that will be necessary to take us forward to a prosperous but different kind of future," he said, according to the text of his remarks.

"Or we can pretend to ignore the need for change, and risk going down with the ship."

Mr Lambert praised a speech given this week by opposition Conservative economic spokesman George Osborne which urged swift action to deal with Britain's budget deficit.

But Mr Lambert also directed his ire at all political parties, accusing them of being out of touch and navel-gazing.

"The time has come for our politicians to get a grip. The United Kingdom faces some of the biggest economic, social and environmental challenges of our lifetime challenges that go right to the very heart of what kind of country we want this to be," he said.

Mr Lambert, a former Bank of England policymaker and Financial Times editor, noted that public faith in politics had been eroded by disclosures about outlandish taxpayer-funded expense claims by members of parliament.

"Politicians are airily throwing around ideas for constitutional reform - ideas which may be desirable in themselves and will need serious discussion in calmer times - but which are a massive diversion at a time when so many urgent policy decisions have to be agreed and implemented."

He said any government had to address soaring level of government debt and the need for reform in the public sector which has benefited from massive extra resources.

"We have to start squeezing more out of all this extra capacity finding better ways of giving citizens services of the quality and breadth that they have a right to expect, whether it's in health, education, transport infrastructure or whatever.

"And we cannot achieve this through the traditional approach to budget management in the public sector. Cuts simply handed down from the centre, salami-style, cannot improve efficiency in the way that is needed."