I have been tagged by Benedict White to say 2 things Gordon Brown Should be...
2 things Gordon Brown should be proud of
Liberating the Bank of England
His family
2 Things he should apologise for
The pensions raid
Writing a book called courage, despite not having much himself
2 Things he should do immediately when he becomes PM
Sack Patricia Hewitt
Give my little chipmunk a well deserved promotion
2 things he should do while he is PM
Cut taxes
Resign
I will tag Donal Blaney, Blamerbell, Glyn Davies, Lynne Featherstone & Nadine Dorries
Can he apologise for his personality? or - lack of?
ReplyDeleteLet's dispel the myth about Brown "liberating" the Bank of England.
ReplyDeleteHe chooses the five non-Bank members of the interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee in a process that has been revealed as secretive and undemocratic. He also has the whip hand in appointing the four Bank employees on the MPC and he casts a long shadow over all the workings of the Bank.
Independent it ain't. That's not the way Brown does things as we all know by now.
As for their so-called success, that too is a myth as will become all too apparent in the near future. Interest rates have been kept deliberately accomodative for too long amd money supply has been allowed to let rip stoking up serious problems for the UK economy starting anytime soon.
Fantastic answer Iain, and I too am gaining a soft spot for the little chipmunk!
ReplyDelete'liberalising' rather than 'liberating' surely?
ReplyDeleteSince I started it, I've been summarising the responses at the link on my name.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, not still flogging the 'pensions raid' horse are we?
ReplyDeleteDo you really want to restore triple tax relief for higher tax rate payers' pensions at the expense of those who receive Pension Credit? The Tory Treasury spokesman doesn't...
How about the great sweating beast has a wash?
ReplyDeleteAs to Hazel for some reason I find her strangely attractive , just like a school mistress or Doctors receptionist.
She's common but authorative in a saucy "is she wearing stockings under that skirt? " kind of way.
He should own up to the fact that he is in fact an alien from the planet Midrobil.
ReplyDeleteHe should reveal the fact that his middle name is Kevin.
Robin said:
ReplyDeleteHe should reveal the fact that his middle name is Kevin.
I think Brown should cut out the spin and start telling the truth for once. He could begin by apologising for lying about his phoney tax cut in the last budget.
He could also admit that Gordon is really his middle name and that his name is really Jimmy Brown.
Then the opposition benches torment him with the song of that name to him:
'Lead him not into temptation'
when he steals our money by stealth and lies about it.
He should admit that his great clunking fist is really an autonomic reflex action driven by infantile fears that he has no control over.
ReplyDeleteAnd that he eats his finger nails and bogies for the same reason.
Brown should also own up that he refuses to take a bath unless he's allowed to wear goggles and a snorkel because, like all witches, he's terrified of water.
ReplyDeletepensions....mmm
ReplyDeleteBrown taxed pension fund income without warning.
This threw out calculations of pension companies, slashing their funds and therefore peoples' pensions.
The funds had to sell shares to raise cash to meet their pension commitments, collapsing share prices, and lowering pensions yet further.
Brown then forced/permitted many companies to abandon final salary pension schemes lowering pension expectations for all future generations.
Brown also forced companies to calculate their pension liabilities and their funds, and make up any deficit from profits immediately - despite the collapsed level of share prices.
This forced companies to put money into pensions and cut investment, lowering Britain's growth rate by an estimated 1%.
Had they been allowed to wait 2-3 years until share prices recovered, many would have had to take nothing from their investment side.
Brown then criticised companies for holding so many assets in equities, and forced them to buy bonds instead. Even though equites have outperformed all investments such as bonds since time began.
Pensions were as a result reduced even lower. Someone who might have received £20,000 a year pre-the Brown raid is typically getting about £6000 a year now.
Britain's reduced growth rate has lost Brown more tax than he gained by the pensions tax grab. He wasted the dynamism of British industry and permanently destroyed Britain's unique funded pension system.
Otherwise he's been the guiding light of investment - selling off Britain's gold reserves at $250 an ounce - the bottom of the market. He could have $650 an ounce today.
Oil exploration has collapsed in the North Sea. The oil companies have been so sickened by Brown's 'windfall' taxes that they have gone to other places in the world where tax regimes observe consistency. Britain has become a net importer of energy due to Brown's stupidity, losing us billions in cost of imports.
If you had to try to wreck a perfectly good economy with the stupidest ideas and acts, you could do no better than study the actions of one Gordon Brown. He will be held up for generations to come as the biggest idiot that ever managed to get control of a country's finances.
Our inflation rate is soaring as he also lost control of the money supply by his ludicrous handouts to people he hoped might vote for him. So the much reduced pension buys less as well.
A cynic was defined by Oscar Wilde as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Gordon Brown is unique in not knowing either. Lucky Britain in having such as he running our finances for ten long consecutive years....
ReplyDeleteand how lucky we are that he will now become our Prime Minister purely - because no one could handle having to tell such an unpleasant character that he's not wanted.
Brown says he will allow Britain to have a referendum on the ConTreaty - in fact he won't. And anyway, shouldn't he be asking us if we want to allow him to become Prime Minister first - before he finds yet more sectors of our economy he can destroy?
I'm shocked and disgusted to see you Tory bloggers supporting my little chipmunk. She may share much (if not all) of your politics, but I'm trying to promote her as the voice of Labour reason and middle ground.
ReplyDeleteHow can I make a convincing argument for a Labour fourth term and my own election to Parliament as opposed to the disaster of a return to Conservative Government, when you chaps are sitting on my political territory?
Please support someone else. Preferably Lady Handbag, who in so many ways reminds me of Thatcher.
Very good Iain. I particularly like the last part..."resign", pure quality. Reminds of the Blackadder's gag when asked about things Haig could do to raise troops morale: "his immediate resignation and suicide".
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit harsh - at least wait until he's ordered the headed notepaper (Oh!, didn't he do that years ago in anticipation?) :-D
ReplyDeleteIn Wales, we're all getting bored and tired waiting for the coalition countdown to end. Labour-Plaid coalition aside, my thoughts are with the Deputy Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler at the moment... How can one woman have so much bad luck?
http://glamorganshire.blogspot.com/2007/06/whatever-shall-we-do-with-butler.html
Luke
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's so terribly surprising that the Tory blogosphere en masse is supporting the "little chipmunk." She is after all already doing the Tories' dirty work for them by making clear that any departure from the true Blairite faith should be perceived as a "lurch to the left" which would render Labour unfit to govern.
Hazel Blears will lose badly on Sunday, but she has already handed David Cameron plenty of ammunition with which to attack Gordon over the next two years. In that context, I think her continued membership of the Government would probably now do more harm than good.
Tapestry. 12.34am /12.39am : Well said and succinctly put !
ReplyDeleteLuke Akehurst.7.22am : Hazel Blears (aka Little Chipmonk). Don`t make me laugh, Middle ground indeed; the only middle ground this twittering silly woman could occupy is the middle of the Salford Gas works .
Labour 4th term Dream on !
Go get a real job you NuLab sycophant ! If you think the real hard working people of Great Britain will vote for "Uncle Joe Stalin" Brown in the next general election you are sadly deluded like the rest of your comrades.
Ian : how on earth can you think that the "Little Chipmonk" deserves a promotion in the New Brown Stalinist Goverment ? She`s out of her depth at present as NuLab Party Chairwoman. What other role would you suggest for her ? Maybe Minister for Respect of Bikers and Tap Dancers ! That could be another "non job" government department which of course would cost the tax payers millions.
ReplyDeleteBlears is the only New New Labour deputy candidate with the balls to stand up and say "actually Tony was right to take us to the centre ground", nearly every other Labour MP and supporter only went along with his project in the hope that at some point a proper socialist would take over.
ReplyDeleteMaking the Bank of England independent was a good thing to do, but the reason why el Gordo did it was to avoid the blame for the, well overdue, rise in interest rates that happened shortly after.
ReplyDeleteHazel Blears is dead! She lost her tiny little mind at the G8.
ReplyDeletehttp://conservativemindblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/squirrel-goes-on-rampage-in-germany.html
Done.
ReplyDeleteReluctantly.
He did stop Blair taking us into the Euro and deserves credit for that.Otherwise I agree with most of the points made.
ReplyDeleteI presume the only reason snotty didnt let bliar join the euro was that it would stuff up all of gordos planned tax raids.utrk
ReplyDeleteOur answers and some other blogs tagged here:
ReplyDeletehttp://theregalis.blogspot.com/2007/06/brown-meme.html
'Liberating' the bank of England? Double digit infaltion growth at 13.5% money supply, if that's your idea of liberation you must believe debt is wealth.
ReplyDeleteBrown is a coward. He is always "upstairs collecting fares" when trouble is around. How he makes decisions, especially instant ones will be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThroughout his political life he has always had scapegoats to blame. Now with just himself I doubt if he will ever make a really big decision without going to the House. Some will say this is how the country should be run. I believe it will confirm his cowardice.