We are trillions in debt and still borrowing as much as we raise in tax to pay for a bloated welfare state and a ballooning army of unemployed. Will Mr Darling do the right thing and slash state spending? Or will he leave the dirty work for the Tories after next year’s election? With debt piling up, unemployment soaring and the state gobbling almost 50p out of every pound we earn, it would be a criminal act to defer emergency surgery. But for Labour MPs there is an even more terrifying number — a slump in support for the party to just 26 per cent, in two polls, after its shameless “dirty war”. The phones of senior party figures were ringing hot over the weekend as millions of ex-Labour voters recoiled from the stench of sleaze. They are abruptly aware that, after 12 years of bullying and manipulation, this Government have been spectacularly and publicly sussed. Worse, for Gordon Brown, the fear factor has been dramatically neutered. Nobody is afraid of him any more. The PM stands revealed as an insecure bully who relies on ruthless and unscrupulous henchmen to poison his rivals. But the damage caused by the Damian “Mad Dog” McBride bombshell spreads wider than Mr Brown. Chancellor ... Alistair Darling His handpicked successor, Ed Balls, is exposed as the devious puppet master of Downing Street’s underground torture chamber. Balls’ thuggish team of enforcers, Charlie “Rasputin” Whelan and slippery hitman Tom Watson, have been dragged into the daylight. As the swamp is drained other top players, such as Labour Party General Secretary Ray Collins, are hauled into the net. Even ex-MP Alice Mahon, an old Leftie who loathes the Tories, is so sickened she has quit the party she served for 50 years. She asks how Downing Street can smear David Cameron and his wife as they grieve over the death of a beloved son. Easy, Alice. It’s second nature. Some blame the media for failing to expose the plotters. In fact, many have tried. But what about the victims — Tony Blair among them? Why haven’t they spoken out. Mr Blair was the target of non-stop innuendo and smears and frequently considered sacking his chancellor. Now scores of shell-shocked MPs facing the boot at the next election are wondering if there is time to dump Gordon. “We’re down to 26 per cent, but there is nothing to stop it going lower,” said an ex-Cabinet minister. “We are in freefall. “People accused Tony of telling lies but Gordon is the biggest liar in modern politics. “The question on election day will be: Do you want Brown for another five years? Millions and millions of voters are going to say NO.” Worryingly for Downing Street, this has revived last year’s feverish talk of a coup. Some are looking to Peter Mandelson to hand Gordon the pearl-handled revolver and urge him to do the decent thing. That’s wishful thinking. Mandelson is the eternal chief courtier, who attaches himself to whoever is in power. For the moment, nobody else is in play. Except Alistair Darling. The Chancellor is no assassin. But he has it in his power to do something for the Government and for Britain. And as he struggles to make his Budget numbers add up, he knows where the blame lies. He was landed with an economy in crisis, borrowing out of control and nothing in the kitty to pay the bills. Huge sums of precious cash have been squandered. Painful cuts will have to be made — including to the sacred NHS. It would be an act of vandalism to leave this mess to fester for another year. As Shadow Chancellor George Osborne points out, these will not be Tory cuts. The debts have been left by Gordon Brown. Any savings required to clear them will be Gordon Brown’s cuts — whoever is in power. AFTER TV images of G20 violence, even fans of the police wonder if they are becoming above the law. They find time to arrest a man with a porcelain pig or to quiz an elderly couple over diversity – but not to save a woman being stabbed to death by her violent husband. Police chiefs are more obsessed with racism than stopping two dangerous serial rapists or saving the life of tragic Baby P. We need the police. But even more, they need to earn and retain the support of the public. DO you agree with Trevor? Leave your comments below.
CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling is awash with red ink as he puts the finishing touches to this Wednesday’s Crisis Budget.
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Monday, 20 April 2009
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