Even though it has been a rocky road from within weeks of his elevation, my constituent (that's code for the PM) has shown this week why he's on his way out of office.The Labour Party, him included, have been devoting considerable effort to the punishment of bankers, especially Sir Fred Goodwin. They’re right as their poor judgement has partly led to this economic crisis - and his pension is an insult. Yet many have rightly detected that the comrades' actions were diversionary in nature to avoid the spotlight being shone on the contributory role of my constituent.
However, the spotlight has shifted and it is shining directly into the eyes of my constituent. Yet unlike Sir Fred he's not even said sorry. He stumbled, looked left, then right and snatched a
t an apology over the 10p tax rate fiasco - something which has nothing to do with the economic crisis.I'm not sure why my constituent believes it is right to blame the rest of the world for all the problems on his doorstep but refuse to accept any responsibility himself. He used to boast that he was leader of the fourth largest economy with great influence and power yet now we learn he is the victim of a global bully.
If only he had listened to Vince.
I think it is near to impossible for those in long term power to look at themselves with an objective eye relative to the decisions they make. It is easy to accept credit when outside events were the real catalyst for any positive outcome while looking outward when things become less than stellar.
ReplyDeleteIf we take Gordon Brown as a specific we see someone who took full credit for the the economy and fiscal policy while he was chancellor. As PM he is now disavowing any responsibility and looking to redirect blame to others - nothing like a bit of bank bashing to deflect blame. As a good chancellor Mr Brown should have ensured effective regulation of the banks and the risks taken, ensured that the Monetary Policy Committee took into account property when making their decisions and ensured that government debt was controlled and reduced.
Now that we are in a recession we have the perplexing situation in that we are forced into encouraging the irresponsible behavior of the past decade where we vastly increasing our debt levels and propping up a housing market that is still over inflated. I think most people accept that in a recession that government debt levels need to rise, however, it is just unfortunate that we are not increasing the levels from a low base or position of strength.
I do not envy whatever party takes over from Labour as they will need to make a number of very painful and unpopular decisions to undo the serious Financial damage done not simply to our government/personal finances but also to our financial reputation. I think this period could also do harm to peoples attitude to savings as we see peoples savings/investments damaged or destroyed.
For Mr brown to apologize would be to admit the failure of his finance policy since in power as Chancellor which would be difficult for anyone let alone someone like our current PM.
I've not agreed with everything that Vince Cable has said in this crises, however, he stands head and shoulders above all other MP's in their reading of this situation especially since his warnings came well before these problems hit. I remember the unflattering name given to Vince Cable by the press (Dr Doom) which I thought was unfair at the time and a sad reflection of the lack of foresight shown by our press and other MPs. It's no surprise that so many people have come to respect his financial views so lets hope that people learn from past mistakes and not revert to old ways once the recession is over.
Kind Regards
Stuart Wilson