Sunday, March 09, 2008

Vote in the Chancellors & Budget Poll

Do you have a view on who have been the best Chancellors of the Exchequer since 1945? Who should be the next Conservative Chancellor? And what do you want to see in the budget on Wednesday?

Take part in my Budget Poll HERE. It will remain open until midnight on Tuesday and I will publish the results on Wednesday morning.

VOTE HERE

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Iain, I know it's late and my faculties aren't at their peak, but I can't seem to find R.A. Butler in any of your lists. Surely this is a major oversight on your part? Didn't you feel he was worthy of inclusion in your list?

James Higham said...

The alcopops were the most interesting part.

Anonymous said...

Well thanks Iain; its not even 9am and already I feel bad. I voted for Gordon Brown as the best Labour Chancellor! Not that I think he was any good its just best of a bad bunch! Think I need to have a good shower now; feel so dirty.

asquith said...

Roy Jenkins was an extremely strong chancellor. Some of the 80s Tories were quite good. But the all-time pinnacle of the chancellors must be Gladstone. He represented Liberal responsibility and good management against Tory profligacy and recklessness.

Anonymous said...

I voted for Brown as the worst chancellor since the war. Every other chancellor has been dealt a poor hand that either forced them to bluff or fold, but to have been dealt an excellent hand and turn it into a losing one of monumental financial cost takes some doing.

Anonymous said...

I was wanting to vote for Alan Curbishley as the worst manager in the Premiership, but then I realised I had landed on the wrong blog.

Sorry Iain.

Anonymous said...

asquith said...
"the all-time pinnacle of the chancellors must be Gladstone."

I think he was a bit before 1945.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure this desire to list everything in order can't be healthy. Why don't you take up train spotting?

Anonymous said...

Clarke dealt a terrible hand to Brown, and then was all over the press telling anyone who'd listen that he would never have stuck to his own fiscal tightening plans in 1998-2000!

The "golden legacy" is a myth. We had political interference re interest rates and appalling social division. Brown sorted that out, made the City a very easy place to make money, and deserves to go down as the best Chancellor we ever had.

Anonymous said...

What about Sir Hugh Dalton 1945-47 . Had to cope with the post second world war near bankrupt Britain and had the decency to resign after making an off the cuff remark re gilt issuance immediately prior to the budget speech
compare that to the continual leaking and "trailing " of news of the budget changes which goes on all the time since the coming of the Corrupt Slimeball to power in 1997
which is now considered normal .


Dalton was Labour too but it might as well have been a different party --

Anonymous said...

I would nominate Kenneth Clarke as a top Chancellor. He brought the economy back on its feet and the credit for his achievement all seemed to be stolen by Gordon Brown.