tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post8912239058801521918..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: What Did Gordon Know and When Did He Know It?Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-12140584102513776722008-05-28T07:48:00.000+01:002008-05-28T07:48:00.000+01:00Its always interesting to come back and read the p...Its always interesting to come back and read the postsafter the dust has settled. Well Northern Rock what a mess that was, we are still dealing with the fall out. Or otherwise known as Northern Rock orphans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-76550803745245688292007-09-25T03:00:00.000+01:002007-09-25T03:00:00.000+01:00My observations on the economic questions in this ...My observations on the economic questions in this interview are:<BR/><BR/>Marr: “We know they got it wrong because we know there was a U turn.” Brown ignored this comment and tried to change the subject by referring to the 80 and 90s and added “we now have low interest rates.” <BR/><BR/>The facts on interest rates instead of the spin are: when Brown became Chancellor after the 1997 General Election he inherited a Bank Rate of 6% and so after 10 years as Chancellor the current 5.75% represents a huge decrease of 0.25%!. In the 4 years prior to the 1997 Election Bank Rate had fluctuated relatively narrowly - between 5.25% and 6.75%. In the first 4 years after the election it fluctuated slightly more (5.5% - 7.5%). <BR/><BR/>Marr then asked again about the Bank of England’s U turn and in response Brown praised Mervyn King profusely. However when asked if he would be reappointed he ducked the question and just said “that’s a matter for ……..” <BR/><BR/>Perhaps he didn’t finish the sentence as he suddenly realised it was a matter for him or his Chancellor, which probably comes to the same thing. <BR/><BR/>Marr then asked about the Northern Rock management: “So far none of the senior people in charge (at Northern Rock) have gone. Would you like to see some heads roll? <BR/><BR/>True to form Brown ducked this question and so Marr followed up with: “You don’t think anything went wrong?” To which Brown amazingly answered “No”. <BR/><BR/>So now we know that queues outside Northern Rock branches were always part of the plan to save Northern Rock. Perhaps the idea was to save the bank but destroy as much shareholder value as possible in the process! <BR/><BR/>Marr asked again about the Bank of England’s U turn, this time with success. Marr: “There was a U turn?”. Brown responded: “Yes, but I just look at it this way….” <BR/><BR/>Marr then moved on to the wider economy and said: “We have £1.4 trillion of private debt, which has happened on your watch. Do you accept any responsibility for the fact that we are such an indebted society?” Brown’s reply was: “That is because large numbers of people have been able to take mortgages and buy their homes for the first time.” Marr interjected: “and buy other things with mortgages too”. To which Brown responded: “But hold on, that is a good thing, not a bad thing.” He claimed that nearly 2m more people had become home owners since 1997 and again claimed that we have relatively low interest rates. <BR/><BR/>Fact: according to Hansard, in response to a question on 26 June this year from Mr Pickles, Yvette Cooper (the Housing Minister) gave detailed figures for the number of homeowners in England in the 10 years to 2006 and these showed an increase of only 1.1million, an average increase of 110,000 p.a., with the number actually falling in 2006. This compares with an increase of 4 million in the 18 years of the previous Tory rule, an average increase of 222,000 p.a., or double the figure brown was boasting about. <BR/><BR/>Brown then claimed “It was because the Government of the day was not good enough in dealing with these problems, was lax in dealing with these problems, that we had these repossessions and we had negative equity. <BR/><BR/>He is on firmer ground here as repossessions and negative equity were clearly a major problem in the first half of the 1990s, with repossessions peaking at 75,500 in 1991. However, his recent record here is nothing to boast about as, according to the CML, repossessions increased by 184% in the two years to 2006 and this trend is continuing, with the increase in the first half of 2007 compared to the first half of 2004 being over 350%. Repossessions this year will almost certainly be in excess of 30,000 and next year’s higher still. <BR/><BR/>He added “I do remember that in 1992 the person standing next to Norman Lamont is (sic) the current leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, who was the political adviser to Norman Lamont at that time. <BR/><BR/>Fact: The Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) fiasco was a humiliation for the Conservative Government, which was effectively forced to leave the ERM by a run on sterling, but nevertheless the decision to escape from the ERM in September 1992 was the right one and so if Cameron advised Lamont to do that he deserves to be congratulated, not pilloried. The adviser who should be castigated is whoever advised the then Chancellor, John Major, to join the ERM in October 1990!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-66822865392197457542007-09-24T20:37:00.000+01:002007-09-24T20:37:00.000+01:00It's not as if GB is a personal friend of the NR R...It's not as if GB is a personal friend of the NR Risk Committee Chairperson or something.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-14667604342029304972007-09-24T00:53:00.000+01:002007-09-24T00:53:00.000+01:00Where the hell is Coulson?I presume, even as I am ...Where the hell is Coulson?<BR/>I presume, even as I am asleep, he is masterminding a Conservative media onslaught on Gordon Brown minutes after he speaks at the NuLabour/Old Labour/Inclusive Party/Socialist/Focus Group Party conference on Monday?<BR/><BR/>If not, why not? Wake up Andy! You're time has come!Ted Foanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-67046580298613241022007-09-23T21:13:00.000+01:002007-09-23T21:13:00.000+01:00"Why can't (or won't) Gordon Brown given an honest...<I>"Why can't (or won't) Gordon Brown given an honest answer to a simple question"</I><BR/><BR/>At first I thought it was something contagious that all senior NuLab politicos seemed to catch. Now I'm more of the view that in Brown's case it is actually congenital. <BR/><BR/>It could be some sort of endogenous growth, of course. But I'm afraid there is no known remedy or antidote...Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-8680493583073202732007-09-23T21:02:00.000+01:002007-09-23T21:02:00.000+01:00Why can't (or won't) Gordon Brown given an honest ...<I>Why can't (or won't) Gordon Brown given an honest answer to a simple question?</I><BR/><BR/>That's up there with "Why can't (or won't) Mugabe allow free and fair elections?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-31506661691839983622007-09-23T18:37:00.000+01:002007-09-23T18:37:00.000+01:00"the stunning silence from the Conservative opposi..."the stunning silence from the Conservative opposition on this issue."<BR/><BR/>... and every other issue of any importance. <BR/><BR/>They've got ten year's worth of Labour screwups to use as ammo but all we hear about is parking fees in the supermarket and similar idiotic ideas.Yak40https://www.blogger.com/profile/10391635243252561168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-87421417569916345832007-09-23T17:47:00.000+01:002007-09-23T17:47:00.000+01:00Not many people really care, they are just happy t...Not many people really care, they are just happy that they can now go back to putting their heads in the sand, deluding themselves that everyone can keep running around with a fistful of credit cards until the end of time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-90843779820356208222007-09-23T16:29:00.000+01:002007-09-23T16:29:00.000+01:00WE have got so used to these types of BBC covered-...WE have got so used to these types of BBC covered-up shenanigans that one more government inspired financial corruption scam is almost boring.<BR/><BR/>Mainly because WE know Cameron dare not say a Dicky Bird about it and the public do not give a damn as long as their tax credits keep hitting their personal bank account.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-634508927286950812007-09-23T14:54:00.000+01:002007-09-23T14:54:00.000+01:00It's no surprise that there's a lot of New Labour ...It's no surprise that there's a lot of New Labour sleaze stories around, they are an arrogant bunch of spivs on the make after all.<BR/><BR/>What is rather more surprising is the stunning silence from the Conservative opposition on this issue.<BR/><BR/>How different from Mandelson and Campbell's highly effective campaign against the major Government in the late nineties.<BR/><BR/>Doesn't Cameron want to win the next election for fear that coming economic meltdown may render it a poisoned chalice?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-53889382551098822982007-09-23T14:49:00.000+01:002007-09-23T14:49:00.000+01:00Funny how The Times, FT and The Economist have all...Funny how The Times, FT and The Economist have all mentioned that Brown went AWOL for several days, cue for cryptic comments about McCavity...<BR/><BR/>Such silence and unavailability is a novel way to restore confidence in the markets. Strange how Brown found time to attend the rigged 'conference' on the NHS in Brum.<BR/><BR/>Northern Rock shares have been sliding steadily for most of the year, although the FTSE 100 had been rising. <BR/><BR/>The BofE has disclosed that support for NR has reached £3bn, but there again the FSA didn't seem to notice that NR had been lending agressively over the last six months. <BR/><BR/>Time to look for southward movements on NR shares tomorrow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-88995350121648619872007-09-23T14:30:00.000+01:002007-09-23T14:30:00.000+01:00The nulab stooge Marr will let Brown get away with...The nulab stooge Marr will let Brown get away with murder.<BR/>Give the show to Andrew Neil.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07259403851476224295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-25969901602399586332007-09-23T14:26:00.000+01:002007-09-23T14:26:00.000+01:00A lot on Andrew Pelling too, thats one seat Labour...A lot on Andrew Pelling too, thats one seat Labour will win on October the 25th, sure u agree Iain! <BR/><BR/>Like to comment on Andrew's behaviour?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-54529907782804403062007-09-23T14:22:00.000+01:002007-09-23T14:22:00.000+01:00Wonder if the Balls' got their mortgage from North...Wonder if the Balls' got their mortgage from Northern Rock.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-71429404967740857942007-09-23T14:08:00.000+01:002007-09-23T14:08:00.000+01:00GB's previous parliamentary diary sec - Nicola Mur...GB's previous parliamentary diary sec - Nicola Murphy - is also Nicola Leslie married to former ODPM Minister Chris Leslie (Minister at time of firefighters strike), who lost his seat in 2005 when Nicola was campaign manager. Chris Leslie is now desperately vying for his former bosses old seat in Hull EastAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com