As Oliver Cromwell said to the House of Commons 20 April 1653
It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place,
which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for
a few pieces of money.
Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice
you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?
Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil'd this sacred place, and
turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances= redress'd, are yourselves gone!
So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go!
Leo Amory, a leading Tory backbencher in 1940 called for a new government of national unity to fight the war and used a pithy and concentrated version of Cromwell - - “You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, GO!” ,
The result - Churchill formed that government that week
Christina
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TELEGRAPH 11.11.09
UK more at risk than other major economies of losing top credit rating
Britain is at greater risk of losing its top-tier credit rating than any other major economy, according to leading agency Fitch.
By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor
The warning, which coincided with news that the biggest devaluation in the pound since the 1930s has failed to stem the rising trade deficit, is the latest blow for the UK's economic credibility.
David Riley, Fitch's co-head of global sovereign ratings, said that record levels of Government debt meant that unless the next Government makes serious efforts to bring spending under control and reduce that debt, Britain could lose its AAA rating.
"It's clear that the UK's ability to sustain large public fiscal deficits and a level of public debt without driving up interest rates and without putting sterling under significant pressure is much less than in the case of the US," he said. "If there was another significant fiscal stimulus package in the UK, then UK rating would be at risk."
He added that, like fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor's, Fitch was expecting the next Government to impose discipline on the books, or face humiliating consequences as it loses its top-level rating. [ We are limping on now only because they are waiting for that change of government To those willing to risk this catastrophe by voting UKIP this just might convince them to think -cs] The warning underlines the struggles the UK economy will face in the coming years as it has to contend with both high unemployment and a major fiscal retrenchment. Mr Riley also warned over Japan's deficit, which many expect to exceed the government's predictions this year by a significant margin.
At his monthly press conference, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, dismissed the warning [this points to why the markets are holding fire only until this governmenrt is history and a new Tory one comes in -cs] and instead repeated his calls for a new tax to be investigated on financial transactions. He said Britain's deficit was a "necessary one-off adjustment" following the failure of the financial system - a failure that had to be addressed with "a new contract between banks and the society that they serve."
Following the news, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "Britain is singled out for concern over the size of our debt crisis, and the message could not be clearer: if we don't start dealing with those debts we will face a downgrade." [Good - HE’s got the message -cs]
Concerns about Britain's economic plight have, in combination with the Bank of England's radical effort to pump £200bn into the economy through quantitative easing, weakened the pound by almost a quarter during the crisis – the biggest devaluation since Britain left the Gold Standard in 1931.
In spite of the fall in sterling, the trade deficit widened in September to the biggest level since January, increasing from £6.1bn to £7.2bn, according to the Office for National Statistics. The increase was partly due to a rise in car imports, as the scrappage scheme encouraged households to spend and pushed car imports up by 30pc, the biggest rise in 13 years. It means that although exports rose by 3.9pc, imports increased by 7.5pc.
Economists said that although the trade numbers were notoriously volatile, it was a concern that the devaluation had failed so far to prevent the deficit widening. However, Kevin Daly of Goldman Sachs said he still expected the UK's current account – its overall ledger with the rest of the world – to get back into balance in due course. [Ahem ? When? The next decade ?-cs]
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