video transcript

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was in fighting mood when he addressed business leaders in London. SOUNDBITE: Prime Minister Nick Clegg, saying (English): "We need more sole traders taking on their first employees, more small firms looking to expand, more medium sized companies helping sell British goods abroad. It's not enough to settle for survival we need to go for growth." His speech came just hours after a warning shot was fired across Britain's bow. The ratings agency Fitch said there was a fifty-fifty chance Britain would lose it's triple A rating over the next couple of years if the government did not stick to its deficit cutting plans. The latest unemployment figures are at a record high. And many in Britain aren't convinced the coalition government's debt cutting strategy is working. Harriet Harman is deputy leader of the opposition Labour party. SOUNDBITE: Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the opposition Labour party, saying (English): "Mr Speaker when we left government was coming down and there economic policy is not only driving up unemployment it means they'll have to borrow more. It's hurting but it's certainly is not working." The domestic economy is faltering and demand from Britain's biggest trading partner, the euro zone, is weak. The government admits it could take two years longer to reach its goal. SOUNDBITE: Prime Minister Nick Clegg, saying (English): "This government is taking a different approach. Bluntly we don't have pots of cash to throw at weekly PLC pleasing initiatives we are steering the country through the most difficult set of economic circumstances in living memory and the very nature of coalition government means policies aren't cooked up quickly on a sofa somewhere at the centre." The government says its looking at a number of new ways to get the economy moving, including peer-to-peer lending for businesses and a new 100-year bond. Details of the new bond will be announced by Britain's finance minister George Osborne when he delivers the Budget next week. Hayley Platt, Reuters.