Friday, February 27, 2009
Quote of the Day: Gordon Brown
Iain Dale 1:22 PM
Gordon Brown on Radio Oxford today.
My flabber is ghasted. And he thinks we will swallow that? IT WAS ON HIS WATCH. HE CREATED THE SYSTEM. IT FAILED.Audit Commission Chief Warns of "Armageddon of Debt"
Iain Dale 12:20 PM
Most economists and ministers now believe that a prudent fiscal policy means not allowing public sector debt to exceed 40 per cent of GDP. But the Government is under no obligation to manage the public finances with this target in mind. Indeed, Britain is not even bound by the 60 per cent limit in the Maastricht treaty, as Margaret Thatcher managed to win an opt-out from the relevant article.
This is just as well, given what has happened since last year. With the debts of the nationalised and part-nationalised banks now on the public sector balance sheet, the ratio of public sector debt to GDP in the UK exceeds that of Italy and Japan. And it is set to grow much higher. On the basis of the planned levels of borrowing, it could exceed 65 per cent of GDP in 2010-11.
And at that scale of indebtedness, the Armageddon scenario most feared by the Treasury - that there will be insufficient lenders to match the planned level of borrowing - begins to look a distinct possibility.
That is why tax increases and spending cuts are inevitable immediately after the election, assuming that there are signs of economic recovery by then - and why any managers of a public service who are not planning now on the basis that they will have substantially less money to spend in two years time are living in cloud-cuckoo-land.
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling will be furious at Bundred. But it goes to show just how much government is breaking down when a senior public servant feels free to write in these terms. He would never have dared do so when Brown was at the peak of his political powers.
Read the whole article HERE. It ought to be making headline news on the 24 hour news channels.Taking the NormBlog Test
Iain Dale 11:51 AM
I've done Normblog's rather detailed blogger's questionnaire, which he has put on his blog today, HERE. Here's a taster...Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? > Devolution. I'm now a vocal supporter of an English Parliament.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? > The economics of Adam Smith.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > Marxism.
Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world? > A book called In The Arena by Richard Nixon. Nixon is a great writer and this book had an effect on me largely because it crystallized what being in politics is all about. In order to make a difference you have to be in the arena – not just on the sidelines mouthing off.
Who are your political heroes? > Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Konrad Adenauer.
If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? > To halve the size of the state.
What would you do with the UN? > Move it to Switzerland, halve its size and budget, reform its voting structures and change the terms of engagement for UN peacekeepers.
What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? > Islamic fundamentalism.
What personal fault do you most dislike? > Selfishness.
In what circumstances would you be willing to lie? > To save someone's life.
What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Fishing where you put the fish back.
What, if anything, do you worry about? > My weight.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Patrick Duffy.
What are you reading at the moment? > The autobiography of Jimmy Armfield and Richard Evans's history of the Third Reich. He taught me Austrian history at university.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? > Washington DC.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? > Richard Nixon, Otto von Bismarck and Cliff Richard.
What animal would you most like to be? > My Jack Russell, Gio.
So if you want to read more click HERE.Fred the Shred: When Heart Overcame Head
Iain Dale 9:31 AM
The great thing about the blogosphere is that someone, somewhere, will spot a weakness in an argument, and DK has certainly done that in spades and I'm not afraid to admit that he has made me think again. An Englishman's Castle has also weighed in, calling me a "statist thug", How Did We Come to This thinks it is all a diversionary tactic, while Prodicus thinks I need to "suck it up". He quotes Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons"..."What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? ... And when the law was down, and the Devil turned round on you - where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's, and if you cut them down -- and you're just the man to do it -- do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!" - Sir Thomas More inA Man for All Seasons
I suspect I should have allowed my head to write that blogpost, rather than my heart.
Friday, 27 February 2009
"We set up the Financial Services Authority to, you know before we came into power there was a sort of self regulatory system so you know they more or less regulated themselves. We brought in a statutory regulatory system, supervisory system, but of course we couldn't know exactly what was going on in every individual bank and it's only in the last few days to be honest that what has happened over this pension has come to light."
The chief executive of the Audi Commission, Steve Bundred, has an article in today's Times. I can already hear you yawning. Well you shouldn't be. Bearing in mind he is an independent, apolitical public figure, he couldn't be more damning about the government's handling of the economy if he tried. Take this excerpt...
I wasn't going to revisit the subject of Sir Fred Goodwin's pension, but Devil's Kitchen has written a very powerful counterblast to my rant against him yesterday, in which I suggested that Parliament should step in and grab back his £650,000 a year pension.
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