From this you can learn two things. Brown-Mandelson (and Darling?) have decided to ignore the urgent warnings which have come at them from all sides - from the OECD, from the IMF, from the EU, from the WTO, from Standard & Poores, from almost all economists at home and from the Governor of the Bank of England himself. It would be unbelievable in a rational world but this is the dream world dreamt up by Brown in his Bunker, who, like Hitler, is moving around Divisions he hasn’t got.
The truth is that Britain only retains its prime credit rating because S&P have said that it depends on what policies will be put into effect by the next government, Right now they assume this will be the Tories !
The second thing you should note is that Mandelson is clearly in charge of this wreck of a government!
Christina Speight
BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ at 08:00 29.6.09
Mandelson: Spending review will be after the election
• Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary
Lord Mandelson confirmed reports that the government's comprehensive spending review for the years after 2011 would be delayed until after the general election.
"We are not in position in June 2009 to be able to forecast what growth will be and what the performance of the economy will be in 2011. That's why we have to wait," he said.
He added: "It maybe disappointing to you that we're not going to hold a spending review now, but we don't need to.
"It would be based on entirely speculative predictions on what economic growth will be in future years therefore what we have decided to do is to link our spending plans to reality rather than to speculation."
Lord Mandelson said that the decision to delay the spending review was in contrast to the Conservatives, who he claimed would cut 10% from budgets regardless of the economic outlook.
"It will take account of the state of the economy at the time unlike the Conservatives, who believe we should take £5bn out of the economy now in the midst of recession. They have also announed they want to take a ten percent cut off departmental budgets," he said.
However he added: "That is not the only only difference between us on public services, it goes deeper than spending," and accused the Conservatives of a "Faustian pact" on public services.
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29.6.09
Government spending decisions put off until next election, Mandelson signals
Tough decisions on whether to cut overall Government spending on public services have been put off until after the next general election, Lord Mandelson says.
By John Bingham
Speaking as Gordon Brown prepared to unveil plans to press on with high levels of spending, despite warnings about public debt, the Business Secretary said that there was no "need" for a Comprehensive Spending Review until 2011. [Since they’ve decided not to take any advice they don’t need any facts either. The rest of the world DOES -cs]
But he said that the new proposals in Mr Brown's much vaunted national plan for public service would be paid for by a "reprioritising" both within and between Government departments. [= no change in spending - just rearranging the deckchairs as our debts mount daily -cs]
He signalled that the Home Office and transport could see cuts to pay for improvements in other areas including a new programme of affordable housing.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It may be a disappointment to you that we are not going to hold a spending review now but we don't need to.
"It would be based on entirely speculative projections of what economic growth will be in future years and therefore what we have decided to do is to link our spending plans to reality rather than to speculation." [The reality is that tax revenues are falling’ welfare payments are soaring and borrowing has reached lunatic levels. THAT’s not speculation, that’s reality! -cs]
He went on: "Our future spending will be conditioned by two things: both the need to rebalance public finances and pay down borrowing in the medium term ... but secondly our ambition to sustain higher levels of spending depend on the performance of the economy, obviously, and depend on growth and our ability to generate employment.
"We are not in a position in June 2009 to be able to forecast what growth will be and what the performance of the economy will be in 2011, that's why we have to wait." [The prudent thing to do while waiting is to stop making matter infinitely worse each day -cs]
Indicating how some departments could see cuts, he added: "The new policies that are being unveiled today by the Prime Minister reflect a reprioritising of expenditure both within and between departments.
"To give you one example: he will be announcing a major boost in the provision of social and affordable housing over the next two years.
"That reflects a switch in spending both within the relevant department but also between the Home Office and the Department for Transport to the other department."
The decision is likely to rile the Conservatives who have frequently accused the Prime Minister of making misleading and contradictory statements on the public finances
Yesterday, Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary and the Prime Minister's closest ally, hinted for the first time that the police may also be protected from the cuts.
The proposals were expected to involve increased spending on front line services such as schools and hospitals, with the recruitment of 100,000 personal tutors as part of an education White Paper, and new funding for social housing.
It comes despite suggestions from Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, that immediate action is required to check the levels of public borrowing.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has warned that public spending was set to rise to 50 per cent of gross domestic product by the end of the next financial year.
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