Global recession could facilitate rise of fascism, warns Brit minister

London, Feb.10 (ANI): Britain's Children's and Schools Secretary Ed Balls has warned that the global economic crisis could spark off a rise of fascism.

Balls warning came in a speech to activists at the weekend, where he warned that far right parties were trying to hijack the campaign for "British jobs for British workers".

The row over foreign workers has gathered momentum in recent weeks and according to The Telegraph, Balls seemed to suggest the recession could trigger a return to the Far Right politics that prospered in the Great Depression of the 1930s.He told Labour's Yorkshire conference: "The economy is going to define our politics in this region and in Britain in the next year, the next five years, the next 10 and even the next 15 years.

"I think that this is a financial crisis more extreme and more serious than that of the 1930s and we all remember how the politics of that era were shaped by the economy."

The remarks are significant because Balls was a key adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his decade at the Treasury as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Balls said that he believed this to be "the most serious global recession for over 100 years".

Last week Derek Simpson, the general secretary of Unite, gave warning that far right elements were hijacking a campaign against foreign firms bringing in non-British workers.

The Liberal Democrats compared the comments with those made by Treasury minister Baroness Vadera, when she claimed she was seeing "green shoots" of economic recovery, echoing remarks by former Tory Chancellor Norman Lamont in 1991.

She was criticised for saying last month: "I am seeing a few green shoots, but it's a little bit too early to say exactly how they'd grow." (ANI)