Mandelson: We must show confidence to beat decline

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In a speech to a CBI conference, he said that the Conservatives' talk of an "age of austerity" risked undermining international confidence in the UK and could deter foreign investors.

Lord Mandelson's remarks came as his department agreed a £5 million loan to bail out vanmaker LDV, a move welcomed by trade unions.

But the minister warned that Britain was in danger of talking itself into further economic problems if politicians of all sides focused excessively on the current downturn.

"We will neither exit the recession as quickly as we can, nor build the future strength we need, if we allow pessimism to descend on us or lower our expectations," he said.

"We seem to be seeing a deliberate political or media ploy to move us from recognising how severe the present recession is, to believing that we can never recover or be as strong again."

Lord Mandelson said: "Sapping our nation's will to succeed won't help us win in global markets. So we need to avoid talk of austerity becoming a licence to talk down the country and to cut back on our capabilities and confidence.

"If we do not have confidence in ourselves, why should others?

"If we do not believe in our capabilities, how are we going to persuade investors to do so? This is a route to inexorable economic decline."