How do you have a debate with nobody talking?
James Forsyth 12:41pm
Alistair Darling’s latest comments are among the most baffling he has made during this whole crisis. Here is his response when asked on BBC News about reports that the Bank of England is to start printing money:
"We're looking at a range of measures to support the economy, to support business, to help people, but nobody is talking about printing money."There's a debate to be had about what you do to support the economy as interest rates approach zero, as they are in the United States. But for us that is an entirely hypothetical debate," he said.
He added: "We are looking at a range of measures to support the economy, to support business and to help people. But nobody is talking about printing money."
But if there is a debate, surely someone has to be talking, if only hypothetically. Darling clearly needs to take some lessons from Bernard Woolley.
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Chris Clark
January 8th, 2009 12:53pm Report this commentEh? Surely the blindingly obvious answer is: When the debate is still "to be had".
penlan
January 8th, 2009 12:57pm Report this commentAnd the other Bernard Woolley lesson-something must be true if it has to be officially denied.
Printing money?
Rhoda Klapp
January 8th, 2009 1:29pm Report this commentWhat are the measures if which he speaks, besides the one which cannot be named? I've yet to hear of anything that will actually help. Captain Darling seems to be completely out of his depth.
RW
January 8th, 2009 2:18pm Report this commentThe last thing that'll happen is a genuine debate. NuLabour don't 'do' proper debates, they do Big Conversations, where they go on a tour of the country pretending to listen to people, and then completely ignore them and do what they'd already decided anyway.
What if a *real* debate was allowed, and someone was subversive enough to put forward a contradictory view? How would Brown cope with the implied criticism? Unthinkable.
JohnAnt
January 8th, 2009 3:04pm Report this comment"nobody is talking about printing money."
Actually, we are, but if Darling isn't, it's because the government doesn't want us to know that's precisely what it's either already doing, or just about to.
Chris Gilmour
January 8th, 2009 3:31pm Report this commentLong term investment plans based on the value of gold rather than sterling perhaps?
Dominic Allkins
January 8th, 2009 4:03pm Report this commentBut he's just the sock puppet. Does anyone honestly believe that he's the one making policy and decisions.
Everyone know it's The Great Leader who is driving this through.
Verity
January 8th, 2009 4:56pm Report this commentHow do you have a debate with nobody talking?
Gordon Brown's favourite kind of debate. At least if no one's talking, no one is making him look ridiculous.
Fergus Pickering
January 8th, 2009 5:20pm Report this commentAccording to John Redwood we're already doing it.
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