The IMF has today released figures comparing the budget deficits of the G20 nations. Guess who has the biggest? Got it in one. Our budget deficit will reach 13.3% of GDP in 2010. Our national debt is growing proportionately faster than other countries, too.
Can it be much longer before our credit ratings are downgraded? That's when a drama really does become a crisis. George Osborne has just issued a statement which ends: "Gordon Brown's denial of the truth about the debt crisis and the need to cut spending whoever wins the election is doing serious economic damage to Britain's recovery.” He's right.
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Neither Te Times nor The Telegraph have picked upon this story yet.
I suppose the spotty youths who pass as reporters for these papers these days are too busy watching the cricket.
"Can it be much longer before our credit ratings are downgraded?"
Do you even have a clue how credit ratings are calculated, Iain?
Although Osborne and Cameron have performed well on the economic debates they have not been as hard as they should have been to highlight the fantasy of Gordon Brown the worst chancellor Britain has ever had.
Their first part of their argument should be that to invest a person or entity needs to have money or access to cheap borrowing. You can only invest when you will realise a return on that investment.
Therefore, the whole Government strategy ‘Browns Folly’ exposed, as his investment in the future, mantra simply cannot be calibrated with returns on this investment producing a higher return than the cost of raising the money for such investment.
It is to say the least fraudulent accounting.
I believe the only way to skin the cat & consign Labour to the History books will be for Cameron and Osborne to come out on day one of a new conservative administration and state they will appoint independent accountants to review the books of the UK and the Treasury & appoint a judge to oversee and hold a public inquiry. Any ministers or Treasury officials highlighted in the report will be subject to the law of the land.
The scope will be expanded to wastage of funds on projects and the NHS and other state services. In addition, accountability on Ministers and the Prime Minister, who made wrong decisions. Gold sales, the use of Goldman Sachs and pre- advice notice to the Gold market.
This unique review independent and non- political will include any off-balance sheet borrowings and state that when the report it is completed presented to parliament and forms the basis of the judicial review.
Yes, I do believe bankers’ primarily American investment bankers have infected Brown and the Labour party, for instance Goldman Sachs who appear on the surface to have been given unprecedented access to prime advisory roles.
The next step should be the conservatives with their massive majority should pass a law to make it illegal for any past Chancellor to take up a position with an Investment or retail bank or position in any financial company or international organisation. This law should cover a period of twenty years after leaving the office of Chancellor. That would certainly hole our sub prime minister and his future ambitions to work at Goldman or the IMF.
Blair and Brown plus their investment banker chums have caused more pain and misery on Great Britain than Adolf Hitler ever managed
13.3% in 2010. And say we don't get 3.5% growth year on year after that (and no one, absolutely no one other than the Treasury thinks it will?? I suggest it'll be 13.5% in 2011, 14% in 2012, ad infinitum.
It is completely and utterly unsustainable. The quicker the IMF is called in (after all Mandelson won't let go of power, will he?), the better for, in particular, my children and their children. I've given up for my generation.
Morals? This Government? You couldn't make it up.
This all stems from Brown's time as Chancellor when he insisted he could run £30bn a year deficits without consequence. Between the end of FY 2000-01 and the end of FY 2007-08 he ran up £200bn of additional borrowing and that is a major contributor to our current problems.
One thing we are not doing though, is sticking to a core message and repeating it until bored to death. Only then will it begin to register with the general public.
Every time a leading Conservative says "Gordon Brown", they should follow it with, "who, of course, made this recession much worse by borrowing over £200 billion during his time as Chancellor..."
Eventually, it might sink in to the likes of Evan Davies and Robert Peston, who for some strange reason seem to think Government debt has only just become a problem, and they might even start highlighting this in their reports.
Then we will have him!
This isn't exactly news, because these are the sort of figures in the last Budget Red Book.
Credit rating? QE has been used to effectively fund the Govts borrowing requirement. Assuming that stops then the pressure really will be on to get people to buy gilts.
Not a word on the BBC yet; I wonder why...
This is what happens when you let inept, champagne socialist communist Jocks misrule England, and then watch them 'try' to palm off all of McBritains national debt off onto England when they p ss off and be an 'Independent' Puppet region of the EUSSR.
John Moss,
I agree. The rot set in after the dot com crash which saw a lot of value disappear very rapidly, mostly in the US but here as well. The taps were opened overtly in America with their cutting of interest rates and an opportunity for a fiscal stimulus of sorts presented itself in the warfighting that has been present since late 2001.
In the UK too, the Keynsian spending splurge began then not last year. It has been getting worse and worse ever since. It wasn't just public sector debt either. Prudent and cautious banking practices were sidelined and the 'good times' saw more and more people getting into larger and larger debts. All the while the Treasury, FSA and to an extent the Bank of England all condoned the over-reliance on funny financial products they didn't seem to understand.
National Debts do not just appear, it's not like the captain of the Titanic saying 'bloody hell, where did that come from'.
NuLab have lovingly grown this particular National Debt through a succession of deficit economies beginning in 2001.
Darling's 2009 budget with it's eye watering borrowing, continues to plan for deficit economies through to 2011, I guess they just can't help themselves.
The latest IMF predictions, though dire, should be a call to action.
While socialist dogma and economic ignorance prevails, Labour is driving the nation on to the rocks.
The world is waiting for evidence that the UK has a serious plan and an ambition to cut debt. We could and should start now rather than prevaricating about "investment" madness. Good housekeeping should not wait until after the election.
Confidence will not come from empty rhetoric and bogus arguments.
Inactivity is costing us all a great deal more than is necessary.
Guess you must have missed the FT piece today titled 'Top UK credit rating not in danger'?
(http://m.ft.com/cms/s/0/8f427116-7dcb-11de-8f8d-00144feabdc0.html?catid=18&SID=c41cd61b81a692a4ffb662125f4b708f)
Our bank bale outs are greater than any other advanced country'
£1.3 trillion. 81.8pc of gross domestic product.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/5949751/IMF-puts-UK-banking-bail-outs-at--1227bn.html
No he's not right and you are in denial of the truth.
Britain retains its triple 'A' status.
George Osborne goofed on the banking crisis and Dave has all but replaced him with Kenneth Clarke.
The Nationalised banks are being brought up to sellable status and will return to the private fold and at a profit for the Country.
VAT decrase to 15% is considered such a good success that your chief supporter, the CBI has praised the move and wants it extended.
Conservative economic policy has been shown to be massively flawed and when this Country faced a crisis of global proportions, the Conservative shadow Chancellor was seen to be lacking in common sense and compassion.
In the run in to the 2010 General Election, you will be reminded of this lack of leadership and the Conservative Party will be slaughtered.
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