Nick Robinson Goes for Darling's Jugular
Iain Dale 9:13 PM
Nick Robinson accuses the Chancellor of being dishonest in this very revealing 8 minuteinterview. He urges the Chancellor to rule out tax rises for lower earners, and he fails to do so. I imagine Tory strategists will be studying his words very carefully indeed. Well worth a watch.
Hattip: Daily Referendum
Ministers Boycott LabourList
Iain Dale 6:54 PM
Just had a look at LabourList (for the first time in ages) and couldn't help notice that not a single minister has contributed for a very long time. Time was you couldn't glimpse at the home page without
seeing by-lines from Douglas Alexander or Ed Balls. No longer, it seems.
Even the list of contributors on the left hand column doesn't feature anyone in government any more until you scroll down to 1st April (John Healey). Posts by both Prescott and Alastair Campbell pre-date
Smeargate.
Looks like they're waiting for a decision from someone, doesn't it?
Just thought I'd mention it. Only trying to be helpful.
seeing by-lines from Douglas Alexander or Ed Balls. No longer, it seems.
Even the list of contributors on the left hand column doesn't feature anyone in government any more until you scroll down to 1st April (John Healey). Posts by both Prescott and Alastair Campbell pre-date
Smeargate.
Looks like they're waiting for a decision from someone, doesn't it?
Just thought I'd mention it. Only trying to be helpful.
Have a Question for Ed Balls?
Iain Dale 4:37 PM
I thought you might like to know about a live online Q&A session at 5.30pm today with our revered Schools Secretary, Ed Balls. It's hosted by the Lancashire Evening Post HERE.
Let's test whether he will take questions on Damian McBride and Ken Boston, shall we gang?
Let's test whether he will take questions on Damian McBride and Ken Boston, shall we gang?
Callous? Moi?
Iain Dale 4:16 PM
Any of you who were watching the end of the Sky News Unplugged budget coverage yesterday will have caught me having a somewhat aggressive exchange of views with a New Labour automaton called Rachel Reeves (actually, when she's not in "Look at me I'm a Labour candidate" mode, she's quite nice). She irritated the hell out of people in the studio, and no doubt watching at home, by repeatedly referring to "my constituency" and "my constituents". Er, you ain't elected yet, love. [note to those about to accuse me of sexism - it's a term of affection in "her constituency"].Anyway, she's written this in Progress today...
The only way we will be able to pay back our borrowing is through getting growth back on track. Today's budget is another step along the line in doing this. As an aside, Tory blogger, Iain Dale was on a panel with me on Sky News yesterday. He argued that the government should have allowed a bank to fail – as the US allowed Lehmans to fail. Having watched HBOS come to its knees and contemplating the impact of that on the 74,000 people who work there, including 14,000 in West Yorkshire, I was reminded on how callous the Tories can be.
For Leeds West, the seat I hope to represent after the next election... [blah, blah]
She writes as if I am supposed to regret my words. Do I think bailing out all the banks at a cost of - well, we don't really know yet, do we - was worth it? Actually I don't. I think if Northern Rock had been allowed to go to the wall it might have actually prevented some of the disasters which followed. If you are a banker and you come to believe the government will always come to the rescue if it all goes wrong, it's only human nature to carry on as before.
It's not being callous. The failure of Northern Rock would have caused untold misery for many people - actually it did anyway. But what about the thousands who might not have lost their jobs if some of the other banks had learned lessons from Northern Rock. You can't run an economy like you run a co-op.
I think what's callous is that Rachel Reeves supports a government and a Prime Minister which introduced a regulatory system which allowed these failures to happen in the first place. Oh, but it all started in America, she says, parroting her leader. But who was it whose regulatory system seemed to actively encourage Northern Rock and HBOS to buy toxic American mortgage debt? Answers on a postcard to Rachel Reeves...
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