Speaking on the Today Programme, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander claimed credit on behalf of the government for "more than sixty quarters of economic growth over the last decade". Wow! That really is an achievement. So much growth that you get 15 years' worth in a decade.
It is the same old Labour "year zero" approach which says that before New Labour there was nothing. Fifteen years of consecutive economic growth is indeed unusual, but it can't be described as 'fifteen years' because that makes it obvious that it started before 01 May 1997. The phrase "sixty quarters" slightly obscures this. Some of us are still smart enough to see through this.
