I am watching the debate on Osborne’s Fiscal Charter live on the Parliament Channel. The barracking and baying at Caroline Lucas by roaring Tory MPs making that weird public school hawing noise was quite astounding. She was making an entirely sensible point about the viability of government borrowing to fund productive investment.
Listening to George Osborne speak, I find it hard to believe that it is seriously expected by the commentariat that this man will win the 2020 election and become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. If ordinary people find him an acceptable human being, let alone leader, I really do not understand what has become of society.
I hardly know where to start to deconstruct his speech, but one fact stands out. Osborne purported to give an overview of Britain’s economic crash and “recovery”, without making a single mention of the banking crisis or bankers’ corrupt and greedy practices as the cause of the crash, of vast banking bailouts by the taxpayer and the rapid contraction of the economy. That banker behaviour was of course accelerated by Gordon Brown’s extreme banking deregulation, but that was Brown’s great blunder, not the levels of public spending.
Osborne is nothing more than a puppet, which is why the establishment via their mainstream media propaganda arm are trying to push him forward for PM.
But I think Osborne is a bridge too far even for brainwashed Middle England – a man utterly lacking in charm, charisma or intellect.
Actually, I think balancing the books should be the aim. But the point is that Osborne has absolutely no understanding of how to do so and no intention of trying. This is an empty political stunt to try to persuade the voters he is responsible (when in fact the Tories have spent more than Brown) and to wrongfoot Labour.
Ah. That sweet song democracy sung by feathered friends just out of our reach. We must have hope. However, the current morass is beyond rehabilitation like serial pedophiles similar to those who make our laws. The time for tweaking is long past. A re-set is overdue.
Sorry its a CON, the clown has DOUBLED the national debt since 2009
http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock
And its all about financing tax reductions and NOT investment.
Those who abstained could rightly be considered traitors to Labour. The question, on whether a government should be able to conduct a deficit budget, is evidently ridiculous. Every government does it when necessary.
Hieroglyph
” I think psychologists call this phenomenon ‘denial’, or similar.”
The word that comes to my mind is ‘ venal ‘.
@Eat my hat
14 Oct, 2015 – 11:23 pm
I’m amazed this isn’t highlighted more. It went from about £600 billion in 2010 to about £1500 billion (£1.5 trillion) in 2015.
That on its own should have consigned the neo-con loons to the grave.
But alas, we live in a police state, where the media is completely controlled and pumps out neo-con propaganda 24/7.
Not to mention the army of slime ball trolls who now infest all comment threads.
I don’t usually get so angry…but The Attacks on Corbyn are Completely Disgraceful
So I wrote this (Craig Won’t Like it)
Corbyn’s New Labour Party.
No 1 We are Going To Kick All These Nu-Labour Fascists Out Of Our Party.
No 2 We are Going To Recruit Some Really Talented People…
No 3 We are Going To {Prosecute These War Criminals Starting With ANTHONY CHARLES LYNTON BLAIR]
No 4 We are Going To Withdraw From The EU.
No 5 We Are Not Going To Do What The USA Tells Us. In Fact We Are Going to Tell Them To Fck Off and Take All Their Armed Forces and Weapons With Them Back To The USA
N0 6 We are Going To Keep The Bank Of England Cos We Nationalized it in 1948 Its already Ours
No 7 We are Going To Invest in New Young British Companies – The Young Unemployed To Make Our Towns and Villages Really Beautiful…
Do you want me to go on…
Do you want me to say this live on TV?
Tony
But wasn’t that banking deregulation by the labour government forced upon us by the WTO?
Didn’t the Wall Street finance houses – with all those toxic CDOs – go to the US government and press then to go to the WTO and press other member states to deregulate in a similar manner to the US banking system so that they could flog their dodgy CDOs around the world?
Bert.
The generation of toss-pots i was at university with, in the vacuous pseudo- medieval of Oxford University, dissipated their wild oats at the great seminary, and proceeded to hyper-ventilate the economy with nano-sliced interest. Since the 2008 crash they have had sweet fa to do for their vast salaries except contemplate their navels about retirement and deny their mis-management of human finance.
They’ve got 5 more years before they’re allowed to retire, so they have to mentor their successors, the likes of Osborne and Cameron in the arts of Thatcher market-worship. All you have to do is tread water old boy until you lose an election and then you blame all the problems on the other side.
Sorry Craig, while you were emulating them, they were emulating, or rather ostrichating, Mrs T: people will always need hardware and groceries and so long as you get your mark-up right, you’ll survive.
RobG
please leave the slimy balls of the trolls out of it, this is a family programme:
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQY7mMYL6HnVTec86m-4SJnd3kQqBXei5qtaOnCvpeUvSaqRBmV
I was interested to discover yesterday, from one of my students, that much the same sort of movement, anti-elite, exists also in France. In their case, they’re anti ENA (Ecole National d’Administration) – the equivalent of Oxford for French politicians.
They’re fed up with the elite, all educated in the same school, no matter whether they’re called Labour or Conservative.
@RobG – Yes, even all the Chartered Accountants have turned Greek !! Its incredible Labour fought the last election without mentioning this preposterous osbornian cocainomics, Ed Balls is of course your typical thick meat-pie eating mancunian.
And his even dumber wife wants to be leader, God Help Us, whatever happened to the real Englishman (like CM ) on whose Empire the sun never set??? I only see lithuanians everywhere, rats who will desert the ship at the drop of a hat.
ITS INCREDIBLE THE DEBT OF THE NATION ACCUMULATED OVER TWO WORLD WARS AND UP TO AND INCLUDING 2009 AD HAS BEEN DOUBLED BY OSBORNE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS !! And the tory twits were heehawing in Parliament, whatever happened to all the chartered accountants of England, are they all in an ouzo stupor too??!
“Listening to George Osborne speak, I find it hard to believe that it is seriously expected by the commentariat that this man will win the 2020 election and become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom”
He puts the commentariat in mind of themselves-they find him exceedingly attractive.
The Dead Sea Troll asks why MPs should be immune from Intelligence spying. The answer is that, constitutionally, they are entrusted with deciding whether to fund the said services. There is an obvious danger that, in order to compromise Parliament’s oversight of the taxes, the spies would blackmail MPs.
And the Secret Service budget now includes millions to pay trolls to interrupt and debase public debates on forums such as this one.
I don’t see how anything differed much from pre-independence of the BoE and afterwards. Prior to the change the Bank did as it pleased, which was enrich themselves and their fellow banking cronies and the Chancellor either liked it or lumped it, mostly liking it, afterwards they did as they pleased again, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer was out the loop and they just (but mostly didn’t) send the odd postcard. Brown couldn’t possibly have de-regulated bankers further than the Tories and the ghost of Labour-past had already done. They got complete freedom, got hooked and addicted under Heath, Wilson put them into re-hab, on bread and water, but they put Callaghan on the game to get them their fixes. Thatcher upped their dose as they craved more, Major tut-tutted, but Blair and Brown got them some raw uncut, and straightaway they over-dosed.
The problem is supra-national bodies (e.g. NATO, the EU, IMF, corporations, intelligence agencies, military, media and banks) beyond any democratic control and national bodies: governments, where democratic choice is limited to political parties indistinguishable from one another on non-trival policy areas, and in every other area take their position as one from the untouchable first lot.
” That banker behaviour was of course accelerated by Gordon Brown’s extreme banking deregulation, ”
Supported by the EU and which Alex Salmond didn’t think went far enough.
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/83538000/png/_83538397_govt_borrowing_1946_2014_624gr.png
Government borrowing 1947-2015
“Supported by the EU and which Alex Salmond didn’t think went far enough.”
Probably because his Scot Nat friend George Matthewson was in charge of the biggest casino of the lot at RBS.
Worth noting that post crash George Matthewson still managed to pass the regulators “fit and proper” test to become a director at another bank, from which he has just retired.
For ease
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/83538000/png/_83538397_govt_borrowing_1946_2014_624gr.png
taken from BBC report
MPs approve Osborne’s spending rules after heated Commons debate
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34524078
~~~
Good Tory whipping last night.
All the clones fell nicely into line even including those with the brainpower of an earthworm.
Department of silly titles.
Whips – House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) – Mark Harper MP**
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip) – Anne Milton MP
Comptroller of HM Household (Government Whip) – Gavin Barwell MP
Vice Chamberlain of HM Household (Government Whip) – Kris Hopkins MP
plus another 14 at a more junior grade! Mostly paid. It’s incredible.
See this extensive list of those Tory troughers who have risen to the top of the tree.
http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2015/05/reshuffle-full-list-of-ministers-and-whips.html
Anyone off to Aberdeen today? 😉
Sturgeon To Build Case For Second Referendum
In her conference speech the SNP leader will reach out to those who rejected independence ahead of Scottish Parliament elections.
http://news.sky.com/story/1569715/sturgeon-to-build-case-for-second-referendum
I really do not understand what has become of society.
That works as well on its own for me.
Maybe the PR grooming Osborne has undergone addresses some very basic instincts in the naked ape, at a subliminal level, for the majority of the credulous public. Or maybe society is at root unchanged, but successfully sedated. The useful test of not watching Osborne, but listening to him on the radio, makes it a lot clearer that he is a greasy opportunist for whom the concept of truth is a foreign one. Even so, the BBC dutifully records only his favourable soundbites, so it is still important not to pay too much attention to the filtered content, if any.
His affinity with Mandelson is striking.
The weakness of the Labour response to this tactical move was surprising. Osborne is proposing an unrealisable target, which must require further drastic cuts to public services – the ongoing ones having consistently failed to reach his relatively modest deficit targets to date. This should have been shouted from the rooftops. Also, the proposal that we remain in surplus is completely at odds with the absolute requirement that government investment be available for productive industry as and when needed. ‘When’ being now and for the foreseeable future. The lobbying which undoubtedly led to Osborne’s proposal should have been relentlessly explored.
And the 20 abstaining Labour MP’s should be expelled from the party. Sure, this was a trap by Osborne, but if Labour had shown solidarity, it would have rebounded on him: his complete absence of principle could have been highlighted indefinitely. Division was the result he most desired, and he got it.
” That banker behaviour was of course accelerated by Gordon Brown’s extreme banking deregulation, ”
Supported by the EU and which Alex Salmond didn’t think went far enough.
Also cheered to the rafters by the Tories, and their rich backers.
We have the Dead Sea trolls devils here trying to deflect to the long gone 2009 banking crisis WHEN OSBORNE HAS JUST BURROWED THREE TIMES AS MUCH IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS (and without any crisis at that) !!!
Gid Help Us, its the synagogue of satan that is upon us, deception and spin abounds.
Bevin
The original Habbabkuk may have been from the dead sea but ended up in Captivity for bad behaviour under the original ISIL about 600 BC. Revenge, though sweet to the Zios, has taken 2.5 millenia to arrive and counter-revenge will hopefully be delivered by Russia directly against the Israeli outfit in the next few days. Yahweh noticeably slower than Lenin.
Ba’al
Thatchernomics has done nothing except devour interest. It knows nothing about how to manufacture or motivate a work-force to create prosperity. When it all goes pear-shaped the only remedy they can think of is to cut the welfare state. The Tories stole Jeremy Corbyn’s soundbites for their conference speeches. Osborne’s soundbites are ziombie snores.
Worth noting that post crash George Matthewson still managed to pass the regulators “fit and proper” test to become a director at another bank, from which he has just retired.
Indeed worth noting. As are all the other fraudsters, Lab, Tory, Lib, SNP, Monster Raving, whatever, given a free pass to carry on by the castrated ‘regulators’. It’s the well-paid but smalltime scum on the trading desks who tend to get picked up, not the big hitters. And even then, hard evidence of any intention to reduce the freedom of the City to create credit from debt and ship its winnings offshore is pretty thin on the ground.
Giyane – I think even Thatcher would be disgusted with the moral climate now surrounding the financial market. And even Thatcher realised that national economics couldn’t rule out strategic borrowing. But this is no longer Thatcher/Reaganomics but a winner-takes-all casino. Worldwide:
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/oct/13/half-world-wealth-in-hands-population-inequality-report
Camila Batmanghelidjh founder of Kids Company and Alan Yentob, a trustee of Kids Company and also creative director of the BBC, will be giving evidence to the Public Administration Committee commencing 9.40am. Grimond Room, Portcullis House.
‘Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh will today be quizzed by MPs about how the charity has been run after allegations that taxpayers’ money was mishandled.
The Iranian-born charity executive will face questions from the Commons Public Administration Committee along with chairman of trustees Alan Yentob.
The move follows an investigation by BBC’s Newsnight and BuzzFeed News which claimed to have uncovered documents dating back to 2002 that raised concerns about the charity’s management.
/..
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/kids-company-founder-camila-batmanghelidjh-set-to-be-quizzed-by-mps-a3090946.html
Member/Party
Mr Bernard Jenkin (Chair) Conservative
Ronnie Cowan Scottish National Party
Oliver Dowden Conservative
Paul Flynn Labour
Mrs Cheryl Gillan Conservative
Kate Hoey Labour
Kelvin Hopkins Labour
Mr David Jones Conservative
Gerald Jones Labour
Tom Tugendhat Conservative
Mr Andrew Turner Conservative
Eat My Hat In which burrow has Gideon hidden all the money?
Tory donor and peer Michael Ashcroft strongly supportive of Osborne?
https://twitter.com/dpjhodges/status/646605273164070912
Tory donor and peer Michael Ashcroft has business interests in Belize?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lord-ashcroft-paper-trail-suggests-billionaire-who-quit-donating-is-still-funding-tories-9681887.html
Too right:
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/news
Think we see where Osborne’s interests lie.