Forgive and forget?
Michael Millar 11:07am
On this morning’s Today Programme Alistair Darling came as close as I reckon he’ll ever come to setting out his stance on guaranteeing bank deposits. He said:
“What we do in relation to that will differ from institution to institution…what I will do is in every single case and every single instance…I have been very clear I have never ruled anything out.”
So finally an answer of sorts, and that answer is the Chancellor will play each ball as it lies. Basically this means our savings are safe but it’s just a question of who ends up being the guardian – be it a Spanish bank or the government itself. Quite why it took this long to say "we’ll do our best to avoid guarantees but if it has to come to that so be it", is beyond me. It would have brought considerable more certainty to everything.
On a separate point, at the press conference at Number 10 this morning, Gordon Brown specifically said there was nothing for him or the government to apologise for regarding the financial crisis. He also said we should not be looking at the past but at the future. Presumably this means the government will stop continually referring to what happened under Conservative rule a decade ago (when the parties suspend their current truce, that is).
Also, this surely means every Cabinet member questioned on the financial crisis will stop opening every single interview with the words “this is a problem that started in America…”
For more from Michael Millar, head over to Trading Floor.
Previous
mac
October 8th, 2008 11:32am Report this commentWorrying, however, that even a tired, hard-pressed Chancellor handled his 'Today' interview better than his shadow a few minutes earlier. Osborne simply couldn't deflect Humphries from the utterly predictable question: "would you or would you not have re-capitalised in the same way?" He sounded like a sixth former being interviewed by the Head.
Mike, Brighton
October 8th, 2008 11:40am Report this comment“this is a problem that started in America…”
...Did America regulate our banks?
...Did America set the MPC's inflation target?
...Did America spend taxpayers money on unreformed UK public services running up Italian style levels of public debt?
...Did America allow an asset price bubble (housing bubble) in the UK through cheap and unconstrained debt?
Andrew Forbes
October 8th, 2008 12:56pm Report this commentmac; quite agree about Osborne this morning; he was totally rubbish. Their policy may be to cooperate during crisis, but they're letting the govt completely make the running, & set the narrative that they're a decisive and united govt sorting out a problem that is not their fault in any way.
The cooperate-in-crisis convention normally applies only to war, where there isn't much mileage in seeming not to support our boys in the trenches. But this is a problem born of govts (the world over, but definitely including the Labour party) failing to regulate financial services; failing to organise public finances, failing . The Tories simply must make capital from this, and at the moment they're not. This is the time, like 1992, to ensure the public has it engrained in their minds that Labour is economically incompetent. Labour did it to them in 1992 (on a much slimmer premise); they have to do it back. Otherwise it's 5 more years' opposition.
Cameron is in grave danger of being the Tory Kinnock.
Ken
October 8th, 2008 3:10pm Report this commentSurely it is totally irresponsible of a would-be government-in-waiting to let the outrageous actions of Marxist destroyers over 10 long years, gain any credibility? This is a crisis not a war. The Conservative party's duty is, without let or hindrance, to set all its fiercest attack dogs onto Brown and his reshuffled, retreaded cabinet. If it does not, well the country deserves another 10 years of miscreant malfeasance. PM's questions today were a huge disappointment, the shadow chancellor on R4 this morning failed abjectly.
Andrew Forbes
October 8th, 2008 4:18pm Report this commentExactly; we're rightly criticising the govt for not knowing what to DO. But the opposition can't even work out what to SAY.
Hysteria
October 8th, 2008 6:15pm Report this commentI agree with all the above
I take it that the folks on Team DC read these comments..?
Wake up and smell the coffee guys.......how do you fancy being in opposition for another five years? Get up and get the attack on............
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