Last updated 19:44, Thursday, 17 July 2008

CUMBRIA is in danger of following the rest of Britain into a recession, a leading county businessman has warned.

Rob Johnston, chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said results of a nationwide chamber business survey were “ominous”.

Key results from the survey show:

l the credit crunch and rising costs hitting cash flow

l a sharp fall in confidence in manufacturing and services

l service sector confidence levels are at their lowest since the early 1990s.

Mr Johnston said: “In Cumbria, the results indicate that the picture is not as bad as elsewhere – yet.

“Confidence in Cumbria does seem to be higher.

“We do have some recession-proof sectors such as nuclear and shipbuilding which we would expect to buck the trend, distorting the overall picture.

“For businesses involved in export, sales are holding up, but some of those trading in the UK market are seeing falling sales and orders.

“We are still part of the UK and global economies, however, and therefore what happens elsewhere will eventually hit Cumbria.”

Mr Johnston added: “These results show a real risk of recession in the coming months. This is obviously deeply worrying, not just for business but for the consumer.

“The temptation for the Government will be to raise business taxes because the Exchequer is running out of money. This would be a catastrophe.

“British chambers are sending a strong message to Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown that to put more pressure on business would not only restrict growth but hit the consumer hard, further crushing what our economy is based on – confidence.”