What is it with Gordon Brown and alarm calls? He spent years ignoring the IMF’s warnings about the state of the UK public finances. And now, thanks to a National Audit Office report, we learn that he ignored warnings about the preparedness of the Treasury to deal with a banking collapse. Here’s the relevant passage
If you want a taste of what Cameron’s speech on the public services was like earlier, do tune into his interview with Nick Robinson – video on the BBC website here. He’s considerably more unabashed about talking cuts than he has been in the past, and stresses the “tough choices” that a Tory government would
David Cameron has just delivered what struck me as his most forceful speech yet on public spending, an indication that the Tories may finally be prepared to talk about cuts. The basic theme was “more for less” – cutting down on Government waste and trimming the “quangocracy” – to deal with the crisis of our
…there’s a call for Gordon Brown to get a Nobel Prize nomination – and from the Vatican’s favourite economist, no less. Paul Waugh has the details.
Here’s how David Cameron kicks off his article in the latest issue of the magazine, before going on to outline the Tories’ “empowerment” agenda: “‘Sit back, keep quiet, let the government unravel and you will be in Number 10.’ If I had a pound for every time these words of advice have been uttered to
You felt it had to come at some time, and here it is – the Tories have reworked the original ‘Labour isn’t working’ poster (30 years old this year) for the current recession. As Fraser suggested earlier, you can expect this message to form their central attack from now until polling day.
Reporting speculation that the Government will delay its departmental spending review, the FT contains this intriguing snippet: “According to one Downing Street insider, there is a debate between those who believe that at least the top priorities for spending should be spelt out, so Labour can challenge the Conservatives on whether they will stick to
Stay tuned for live coverage of PMQs from 1200 onwards. 1204: Here’s Brown now. First question from Jim Sheridan – “Today’s unemployment figures are extremely disappointing … will [the PM] reassure us that he will deal with this?” An opportunity for Brown to talk about “investment” in skills and training. 1206: Cameron now. Leads on
So would an economic recovery give Labour a slim chance of winning the next election? That’s the question mooted by the Guardian this morning, as their ICM poll discovers that some people planning to vote Tory or Lib Dem would consider switching to Labour if there are “clear signs of a recovery” by May 2010.
As it’s St Patrick’s Day, here’s a clip of the great Irish comedian Dave Allen to round off the afternoon: I’d also recommend you check out this (sadly, unembeddable) clip of Allen’s 1993 routine on banks – I reckon he may have spotted the signs of the credit crunch before anyone else…
Labour have come out fighting on welfare reform today – with James Purnell stressing the Government’s commitment to the agenda in an interview with the FT, and Tony McNulty doing likewise in an article for the Guardian. Although neither go beyond anything we’ve heard before – in spite of the the fact that the reform
This month’s Ipsos-MORI figures have been released and Labour appears to have eaten a hefty chunk out of the Tory lead: Conservatives — 42 percent (down 6 percentage points) Labour — 32 percent (up 4) Lib Dems — 14 percent (down 3) As Anthony Wells points out, though, the last Ipsos-MORI poll had a considerably bigger
I didn’t actually tune into Paul Myners’ appearance before the Treasury Select Committee (did any CoffeeHousers?), but it sounds as though he took “It’s not my fault, guv” to a whole new level. Take Myners’ explanation of why he didn’t know that Fred the Shred’s pension settlement was discretionary: “Nothing was said that at [a] meeting by
In some sense, the critics of Cambridge University’s decision to call for an A* grade from its applicants have a point – it will, most likely, make it disproportionately more difficult for students from state schools to get into the university. After all, despite educating only seven per cent of pupils, independent schools produce more
So here it is. After Cameron’s apology last week, Brown has used his interview in today’s Guardian to hit back with an apology of his own. Or maybe not. Truth is, the Prime Minister says he accepts “full responsibility” for his actions, but – as usual – follows it up with a caveat which passes
The take-home point from Cameron’s press conference seems to be his announcement that the Tories would freeze the 2 percent rise in the BBC licence fee pencilled in for this year – Jeremy Hunt also discussed this earlier on ConservativeHome. My quick take on it is that it’s clever politics, but deeply unambitious. The clever
The research by PricewaterhouseCoopers in today’s Independent delivers some more figures for the credit crunch scrapbook: “The total value of shares and homes owned by British households has fallen from £6.8trn in 2007 to £4.9trn now – a decline of £1.9trn, or 28 per cent, the PwC figures show. During the credit crunch, houses have
In the wake of the Lindsey oil refinery strikes, there’s evidence that Gordon Brown’s deeply misguided ‘British jobs for British workers’ soundbite has provoked some dangerous trends. Take the Harris poll in this morning’s FT. It finds that 78 percent of British adults think immigrants should be made to leave the country if they don’t
An important article by Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer, setting out the “clique of four” at the heart of the Tory party – David Cameron, George Osborne, Andy Coulson and Steve Hilton – and the deleterious monopoly they have on decision-making. This passage outlines the extent of the problem: “Some shadow cabinet members report that
Matthew Parris hits the nail on the head this morning, with an article bemoaning the lack of Tory foreign policy. Do read the whole thing, although the final paragraph sums up the charge: “As Opposition leader, Margaret Thatcher defined herself in brutal and angry outline as a cold warrior. Today there is no need for
