George's Autumn Statement

[Tubby Mondays]

At least we can all agree that at these times of widespread global troubles, it is fortunate that we have a strong-willed Conservative government leading the country through the darkness back to the good times with a steady torch.

That they are not afraid of making the tough decisions is a blessing to us all.

Heaven knows what state we'd be in if Labour had managed to cling onto power.

Its not a Conservative government.

They couldnt win the election.

They couldnt beat Gordon Brown.

The only place they are leading anyone is further into the shit.

 

[paddy]

Its not a Conservative government.

They couldnt win the election.

They couldnt beat Gordon Brown.

The only place they are leading anyone is further into the shit.

Correct.

They did - they won both the popular vote and the most seats in the Commons.

They did - see above.

There's no doubt that we're in for some tough years. But we were in for tough years irrespective of the colour of the government. And the lives of people in this country over the next few years are going to be a walk in the park compared to the lives of our counterparts in most other European countries

 

[Beach Hut]

Correct.

They did - they won both the popular vote and the most seats in the Commons.

They did - see above.

There's no doubt that we're in for some tough years. But we were in for tough years irrespective of the colour of the government. And the lives of people in this country over the next few years are going to be a walk in the park compared to the lives of our counterparts in most other European countries

Spot on, I am afraid due to previous excesses tough decisions have to made and implemented, we are getting off quite lightly compared to some countries by at least having a Government committed to getting us out of this mess as opposed to the likes of the Greeks.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Spot on, I am afraid due to previous excesses tough decision have to made and implemented, we are getting off quite lightly compared to some countries by at least having a Government committed to getting us out of this mess as opposed to the likes of the Greeks.

Seems to me it's now all about maintaining the UK's credit rating and not panicking the flock of trader sheep. Beyond that, everybody in the global finance sector is making it up as they go along. Nobody knows anything. Everybody talks a good game, but nobody knows how or when things will get back on an even keel.

 

[Beach Hut]

Seems to me it's now all about maintaining the UK's credit rating and not panicking the flock of trader sheep. Beyond that, everybody in the global finance sector is making it up as they go along. Nobody knows anything. Everybody talks a good game, but nobody knows how or when things will get back on an even keel.

To be fair you can only go on prediction as what happens if another major event happens like 9/11, Tsunami or a European country does go bust ?

 

[sten_super]

Seems to me it's now all about maintaining the UK's credit rating and not panicking the flock of trader sheep. Beyond that, everybody in the global finance sector is making it up as they go along. Nobody knows anything. Everybody talks a good game, but nobody knows how or when things will get back on an even keel.

Osbourne's plan could look positively genius if there's a Eurozone collapse, because that's when rates will really shoot up and credit will be hard to find. A balanced budget (or close, as the economy would be further depressed by a eurozone collapse and thus tax revenues would fall) would be looked upon very favourably (in comparison) when eurozone member states are undergoing existential crises.

 

[drew]

What are you talking about?! The fact is the OBR are forecasting 710,000 public sector job losses. Economic necessity will dictate many will retool, whilst human nature dictates many will never get back in the job market. It's how many of those 710,000 find other gainful employment that will shape the recovery.

I used to work for the Home Office, I retrained as an accountant and now have my own practice. If the banks start lending to small business the rest of the infrastructure is there to start business - low interest rates, favourable rents, grants, tax relief on business investment for start-ups, broadband, technology etc.

What exactly do you mean by 'human nature'. Your posts have an underlying theme of suggesting that anyone who has the misfortune not to be in a job is arsing about and lazy rather than unfortunate. You retrained as an accountant and good for you. What you don't say is whether you were made redundant during a time of economic downturn or whether it was a career choice and you did it during a booming economy?

I think you are genuinely missing Pav's point, which is that the latest OBR figures suggest a 'reduction' in public sector employment of 710,000. What proportion of these people become long-term unemployment, and what proportion find alternative employment (either using similar skills to those they already possess or re-skilling for a new industry) will have a big impact in determining how well the economy the performs.

Fair enough, my bad. I certainly accept that his choice of language in his first post wasn't great, but it was a bit of a throwaway line... his underlying point is certainly valid.

His underlying point is that if you are unlucky to lose your job then unless you get another one then you are arsing about and a drain on everyone else.

Correct.

They did - they won both the popular vote and the most seats in the Commons.

They did - see above.

There's no doubt that we're in for some tough years. But we were in for tough years irrespective of the colour of the government. And the lives of people in this country over the next few years are going to be a walk in the park compared to the lives of our counterparts in most other European countries

.

To win the election, you have to win more than 50% of the seats. Therefore they failed. And let's not forget that they failed from a position of having a massive lead in the polls against an incumbent PM that was probably universally disliked by all sides of the the political spectrum. Abject failure.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

At least we can all agree that at these times of widespread global troubles, it is fortunate that we have a strong-willed Conservative government leading the country through the darkness back to the good times with a steady torch.

That they are not afraid of making the tough decisions is a blessing to us all.

Heaven knows what state we'd be in if Labour had managed to cling onto power.

We don't have a strong willed Conservative Govt, we have a coalition overseeing riots, public sector strikes, massive rises in unemployment and government borrowing ..........

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Osbourne's plan could look positively genius if there's a Eurozone collapses

which will not happen.

 

[Beach Hut]

which will not happen.

Can see a partial collapse, the Greeks must be odds on to be ejected

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

To be fair you can only go on prediction as what happens if another major event happens like 9/11, Tsunami or a European country does go bust ?

I'd agree completely. But the major event that's highly most likely to happen is the one everybody can seen coming. Which is the collapse of the Euro. Which means that the best economic brains on the planet should be able to see it off. But they seem to be incapable of doing that. Which is seriously scary.

 

[Bold Seagull]

They did - they won both the popular vote and the most seats in the Commons.

They did - see above.

You understand the difference between 'most' and 'majority' I take it? Or did you think Cretin Clegg was made Deputy Prime Minister because Cameron liked his ties?

 

[Bold Seagull]

Does strike me as genius that the Coalition came into power on the back of how bad the deficit was, and that it been created by Labour etc. etc. They had all the solutions, how to steer us out of trouble, how to reduce the deficit to a balanced books by the end of this term, and what, after 2 years the deficit is likely to be larger than when they started!! Good work fella's, great work. As long as all their trust funds, and securities are all okay though. That's the main thing.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

You understand the difference between 'most' and 'majority' I take it? Or did you think Cretin Clegg was made Deputy Prime Minister because Cameron liked his ties?

Don't worry about it. Lib Dems are currently down to their traditional 11% of the polls. They f***ed over huge numbers of their natural supporters last election and may as well disband. Traditional two-way choice next time around

 

[beorhthelm]

which will not happen.

really? a month ago one might have put it so boldly, but after the German bond sale fail last week, it looks like anything could happen.

 

[sten_super]

which will not happen.

You seem a lot more confident than me and it's my job to worry about it...

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

You seem a lot more confident than me and it's my job to worry about it...

Might be your job to worry about it, but you haven't got the foggiest idea how events are going to unfold. Fact.

 

[sten_super]

Might be your job to worry about it, but you haven't got the foggiest idea how events are going to unfold. Fact.

You're not wrong there. Just don't tell my clients!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

You're not wrong there. Just don't tell my clients!

 

[ferring seagull]

Does strike me as genius that the Coalition came into power on the back of how bad the deficit was, and that it been created by Labour etc. etc. They had all the solutions, how to steer us out of trouble, how to reduce the deficit to a balanced books by the end of this term, and what, after 2 years the deficit is likely to be larger than when they started!! Good work fella's, great work. As long as all their trust funds, and securities are all okay though. That's the main thing.

Not all but a very substantial part of the problem was caused by the last government which, amongst many other things, created employment in the public sector where such a move was certainly not indicated given that productivity in the non-manual areas of public sector are far lower than in the private sector. Presumably, or possibly, that was done to massage the employment or unemployment figures.

Suggest you read Bozza's post (and technically I acknowledge that we do not necessarily have a Conservative government), a coalition at that point in time was probably the best result for the electorate. Indeed the coalition have involved some Labour MPs in the process.

Given that, post-election, the Labour adminisistration even admitted they had spent the cupboard bare, it is unimaginable what they would have inflicted on this country had they somehow retained power.

Further, much has happened since the election outwith UK control to make the situation worse than it might have been.