Could a Brown-Darling split undermine Labour's economic message?
Peter Hoskin 6:10pm
The latest official borrowing statistics were released earlier today, and - thanks to a few revisions, detailed by Paul Waugh here - they're slightly lower than you might expect. Not that the numbers aren't still massive. Public sector net borrowing between April and October stood at £37 billion - bringing the total over the economic cycle up to £640.9 billion, or 42.9 percent of GDP. While, crucially, net borrowing for October was 1.4 billion - the first time that there hasn't been a net repayment in October since 1994. And that's even when leaving, say, PFI liabilities and the bank bailout off the balance sheet, as is Brown's want.
Now, all this does represent a "borrowing binge," as Cameron and Osborne put it. But, on that front, the numbers will be considerably more damning in the months after the PBR. In the meantime, it could be Brown and Darling themselves who most undermine the Government's borrow-borrow-borrow-spend-spend-spend narrative. The stories about a split between No.10 and No.11 are gathering pace. And whilst the source of tension may be over how much to borrow to fund tax cuts - rather than over whether tax cuts should be funded by borrowing - the Tories will be hoping that it comes across as internal Labour doubt over their own economic platform. Whether the split story has stuck will probably be shown by the column inches it garners in the Sundays. Watch this space.
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TGF UKIP
November 20th, 2008 6:45pm Report this commentMore mega mega bad news could be coming Gordon's way on N. Rock. See "Granite hits the fan" over on Guido at order-order.com
TrevorsDen
November 20th, 2008 6:56pm Report this commentDarling bears the imprint of the last person who sat on him.
The one blip was his Guardian interview when he said we were facing the worst crisis in 60 years and then he was put down by Brown.
Indeed it seems to me Brown knew what was coming but chose to ignore it - happy to see a crisis take peoples eyes off what a failure as PM he was.
Athesius the Facilitator
November 20th, 2008 7:27pm Report this commentIts all coming out in the wash now. Gordon will be sprinting upstairs to the attic in number 10 for a quick dozen furlongs on his rocking horse.
A split! Surely not! Or is this the point where the wheels fall off his trolley.
Now lets see some really hard questions from the lobby journo's. And maybe give a friendly nod to George Osborne who has been vindicated. The witch hunt can now stop. He is right and always was.
Just a little foot note on George Osborne. Hasn't it ever dawned on you lot that there has been a concerted effort by the "smearing machine" to undermine Osborne. He was singled out by "you know who" and then systematically targeted. Shame on Ian Martin and any other centre right journo who doubted the lad. They should eat a bit of humble pie and do some BDR (battle damage repair).
Nicholas
November 20th, 2008 9:22pm Report this commentIf Brown is a Stalin or Mao the destruction could be quite deliberate. He could be "playing" the game of being the "responsible" prime minister but secretly wrecking everything to create the ashes from which his fundamental new world order will rise.
Agree with Athesius on Osborne.
GS London
November 21st, 2008 12:09pm Report this commentNicholas:
Good point, and I don't beleive it cynical or conspiratorial to think as such. Checking up on Wikipedia's Left Wing Politics Portal, I found out that those who believe communism is the answer must first drag capitalism through the thicket of socialism.
A financial crisis such as this may wreck everything, and put everyone on the dole. This makes everyone dependent on the state, and allows that state to dictate terms. Easy!
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