27 AUGUST 1994, Page 23

No confidence, please

THE GOOD news about the economy is that it has been growing strongly. The bad news is that people have noticed. A poll conducted (for some reason) for the Euro- pean Commission shows that optimists are still in a minority but that confidence is building up. What is worse, the Treasury is pleased. Once optimism gets on top, the way is open to a spending boom, a credit boom, a housing boom, and a boom in imports and inflation. We have had them all before and we need none of them now. I propose a vote of no confidence.