Economic crisis as serious as 2008: Cameron

In a somber speech at an annual convention of his Conservative Party, Britains prime minister David Cameron vowed to stick to sharp austerity measures despite the economys meager growth and insisted Britain would not help fund endless bailouts of its tottering European neighbors.The threat to the world economy and to Britain is as serious today as it was in 2008 when world recession loomed, Cameron told delegates in the northwest England city of Manchester.The eurozone is in crisis, the French and German economies have slowed to a standstill, even mighty America is being questioned about her debts, he said.Cameron made his keynote address after the government statistics agency said the countrys economy grew by a weaker than expected 0.1 percent in the second quarter, fueling worries over sluggish growth.We need to tell the truth about the overall economic situation, Cameron told delegates. People want to know why the good times are so long coming.He insisted that Britains program of 81 billion pounds ($126 billion) of public spending cuts, which are seeing thousands of public sector jobs lost and welfare payments axed, would eventually return the country to prosperity.Slowly but surely were laying the foundations for a better future. But this is the crucial point it will only work if we stick with it, Cameron said.Cameron also took on critics, including many within his party, who demand cuts to Britains 8.4 billion pound ($13.2 billion) annual aid budget. Aid spending and health are the only two sectors spared from Camerons austerity drive.I really believe, despite all our difficulties, that this is the right thing to do, Cameron insisted. That its a mark of our country, and our people, that we never turn our backs on the worlds poorest.The four-day gathering of the center-right Conservatives, who head Britains coalition government with the smaller and left-leaning Liberal Democrats, has wrestled with how to kick-start the countrys spluttering economy.