Stop being so gloomy says Mandelson

Lord Mandelson said today that Britain should stop being "so darned pessimistic" about the future.

Despite the recession, the Business Secretary insisted there were still "plenty of opportunities" and complained that people were focusing too much on the negatives.

He spoke out at a Cabinet question and answer session in Glasgow, where members of the public were given the opportunity to quiz senior ministers.

Lord Mandelson was answering a question on a government car scrapping scheme — where drivers could get cash to buy a new car and scrap their old one — but went on to urge people to look on the "up side" about the economy.

He said: "When people talk about the world with such pessimism they are ignoring all the opportunities and concentrating only on the risks. It's about time people stopped being so darned pessimistic and looked at what we're good at in this country."