Economy

Did you realise that today is the first anniversary of the government's Spending Review? Neither did I until the politicians started making a fuss about it, starting with Vince Cable on the TV last night. We'll post video footage of the Business Secretary's performance when we can, but this write-up here just about covers it. He made a few earcatching remarks — among them that "we didn't know that there would be a major crisis in our export markets and that energy prices would shoot up" — but one has captured the headlines more than any other. Asked whether he could promise that we wouldn't experience a double-dip recession, Cable replied: "I can't do that. We know conditions are very difficult but the government is doing the best it can to protect people.

For all the attention that is being focused in Westminster on the publication of the Cabinet Secretary’s report into the links between Adam Werritty and Liam Fox tomorrow, the real story is the countdown to Cannes. It is now three weeks since George Osborne declared that the eurozone countries had three weeks to save the Euro. So far, they haven’t done anywhere near enough. There’s also little sign that this weekend’s summit will see them make much progress. The Germans are already busy playing down expectations. From a British perspective, the intriguing question is: what does the coalition do if the eurozone continues to show no sign of getting its act together?

Labour may have a narrow leads in the polls, but they continue to lag behind the Tories on the public's number one issue: the economy. Today's ComRes poll finds that just 18 per cent trust Eds Miliband and Balls "to make the right decisions about the economy", compared to 30 per cent for Cameron and Osborne. Worse, the two Eds don't even have the confidence of the majority of Labour voters: only 48 per cent trust them on the economy. YouGov also find Labour behind when it comes to the economy. 30 per cent think the Conservatives would handle it best, while just 26 per cent think Labour would. And that's despite the fact that 58 per cent of the public think the Coalition is managing the economy badly.

So, CoffeeHousers, are Eds Balls and Miliband a gruesome twosome or the most sparkling partnership since Torvill and Dean? I ask only because they're really pushing the double-act shtick today. There's their first-ever joint interview in the Evening Standard, for instance, in which they reminisce about the Shadow Chancellor's 30th Birthday party, among other things. And then there was their joint appearance to officially launch Labour's 'plan for growth' campaign this afternoon. They were talking policy, but there was also a strong emphasis on their personal relationship: eye contact, anecdotes, that sort of thing. Blair and Brown we are not, they seemed to be saying. As for the policy, if you heard Ed Balls' speech to the Labour party conference, then you've heard it before.

Here's the latest in our Another Voice series of posts, which give prominence to viewpoints outside the normal Coffee House fold: You can't help but notice that the UK economy isn't doing too well. Part of this is down to international developments, sure. But part – as Mervyn King said in "http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/pdf/govletter111006.pdf">his letterto George Osborne last week – is the result of "fiscal consolidation", aka spending cuts. The IMF's assessment, published a few days ago, shows both why debt has risen (lower tax revenues) and what is happening now (sharp contraction): And there's much more contraction to come: So why keep on contracting if it is affecting economic growth?

Boris Johnson must be one of the very few politicians in the world to make the audience laugh before they even start their speech. Just by walking on stage, he has the effect of a good comedian: the punters start to smile, in anticipation of some good one-liners. In today’s case, Boris got a standing ovation before he opened his mouth. Here is the man judged by Ladbrokes as the most likely next Conservative leader, but he had not come to stir. The Prime Minister – who lavished praise on the Mayor last night – was in the hall. It was all Big Society (BoJo division): affordable housing and a reprise of his January speech about restoring London’s identity as a union of villages.   But, he sounded several clear notes of defiance.