When Gordon Brown ran a budget surplus, William Hague demanded that it be returned to the pockets of the general population in order to stimulate the real economy, while Boris Johnson demanded that it be invested in public services and in infrastructure projects.
In hindsight, they were both right. A surplus is no more or less an end in itself than a deficit is. They knew that. You know that. I know that. But our dear Chancellor of the Exchequer knows nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.
The man whom even the fees at St Paul's could not buy an O-level in Maths is splendidly torn to pieces by Phil Burton-Cartledge, Bryan Gould, Michael Meacher, Simon Perks and Prem Sikka.
As Polly Toynbee points out, a willingness to stand up to George Osborne's economic nonsense is the test of the Labour Leadership candidates.
Although he could do absolutely anything to the economy and much of the press would gush over it. As would Liz Kendall.
Liz Bloody Kendall.
A ludicrously right-wing candidate appeared out of utter obscurity on a very high-profile political programme immediately after the Election, when it could have had anyone on, but it chose her.
Lo and behold, suspiciously comprehensive newspaper profiles of her then duly appeared. And now, she is on the ballot.
Shades of David Cameron, whose time as Shadow Education Secretary had failed to trouble the public consciousness at all, in 2005.
I remain committed to Andy Burnham, although Yvette Cooper would do, and Jeremy Corbyn also needs to be a candidate in order to raise certain issues.
I remain committed to Tom Watson, although several of the others would also be good, as John Healey would have been. Stella Creasy and Rushanara Ali are decidedly impressive.
But the fact that Kendall and Caroline Flint have sailed onto the ballot is extremely dispiriting.
I am beginning to think that 2015 was the last General Election that the Labour Party, as the Labour Party, could ever have won, and that it will have been the last chance for that theory's ever to be tested.
The media are parading Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Peter Mandelson and David Miliband. As ever, they are subjecting them to no scrutiny whatever.
So what if they "won"? They did so against no competition of even the slightest kind at any of the 1997, 2001 and 2005 Elections.
In any case, caring about mere winning, for its own sake, is just like supporting a football team. It has nothing remotely to do with politics.
Campbell now presumes the right to dismiss the Labour Leader if he is not satisfied in the middle of this Parliament. He could probably pull it off, too.
Winning the 2020 Election, when the economically illiterate Osborne will be Prime Minister, ought to be a doddle.
But it won't be.
It will, however, be Labour's last chance to be anything other than the permanent second party that it would otherwise become.
It will never disappear, or even come third. Disappear in favour of what? Come third behind what?
But permanent second place might be a fate even worse than those. In its own way, it would certainly be at least as bad.
In hindsight, they were both right. A surplus is no more or less an end in itself than a deficit is. They knew that. You know that. I know that. But our dear Chancellor of the Exchequer knows nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.
The man whom even the fees at St Paul's could not buy an O-level in Maths is splendidly torn to pieces by Phil Burton-Cartledge, Bryan Gould, Michael Meacher, Simon Perks and Prem Sikka.
As Polly Toynbee points out, a willingness to stand up to George Osborne's economic nonsense is the test of the Labour Leadership candidates.
Although he could do absolutely anything to the economy and much of the press would gush over it. As would Liz Kendall.
Liz Bloody Kendall.
A ludicrously right-wing candidate appeared out of utter obscurity on a very high-profile political programme immediately after the Election, when it could have had anyone on, but it chose her.
Lo and behold, suspiciously comprehensive newspaper profiles of her then duly appeared. And now, she is on the ballot.
Shades of David Cameron, whose time as Shadow Education Secretary had failed to trouble the public consciousness at all, in 2005.
I remain committed to Andy Burnham, although Yvette Cooper would do, and Jeremy Corbyn also needs to be a candidate in order to raise certain issues.
I remain committed to Tom Watson, although several of the others would also be good, as John Healey would have been. Stella Creasy and Rushanara Ali are decidedly impressive.
But the fact that Kendall and Caroline Flint have sailed onto the ballot is extremely dispiriting.
I am beginning to think that 2015 was the last General Election that the Labour Party, as the Labour Party, could ever have won, and that it will have been the last chance for that theory's ever to be tested.
The media are parading Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Peter Mandelson and David Miliband. As ever, they are subjecting them to no scrutiny whatever.
So what if they "won"? They did so against no competition of even the slightest kind at any of the 1997, 2001 and 2005 Elections.
In any case, caring about mere winning, for its own sake, is just like supporting a football team. It has nothing remotely to do with politics.
Campbell now presumes the right to dismiss the Labour Leader if he is not satisfied in the middle of this Parliament. He could probably pull it off, too.
Winning the 2020 Election, when the economically illiterate Osborne will be Prime Minister, ought to be a doddle.
But it won't be.
It will, however, be Labour's last chance to be anything other than the permanent second party that it would otherwise become.
It will never disappear, or even come third. Disappear in favour of what? Come third behind what?
But permanent second place might be a fate even worse than those. In its own way, it would certainly be at least as bad.
I supported Andy Burnham till his ridiculous comments about the Church. Complete lack of understanding!
ReplyDeleteOf what? It's not as if he is standing for anything with the slightest influence over the Church.
Delete