Hemmed in

Paul B

Classic flanking pincer movement.(I wonder if there was any advance planning between King & Darling) Brown will not like this, its only a matter of time before he or one of his praetorian guards lashes out. This is not the end, but this just maybe the beginning of the end. It will be car crash viewing. Morbidly fascinating and riveting.

Jonathan T

Let's hope so.

On a related note, well worth watching this excellent demolition of Brown's shameful economic record by Daniel Hannan, MEP.

http://www.order-order.com/2009/03/hannan-tells-gordon-he-is-pathologically-incapable/#comments

luke

These are good points, but the right is getting too excited about this, I fear.

King and Darling both back the widespread view that we need to use macro-economic policy to stimulate the economy. They both backed the original UK stimulus from november.

Important to note therefore that both reject the tory claim that the stimulus so far was unafforable.

Both have now sounded a note of caution about how much further we can go as a country.

My expectation is we will see a continuation of the existing stimulus package to account for a longer downturn and both men will publicly support this as the right move.

If so, I fear Cameron and Osborne will both be left isolated again.

I dont mind them being isolated if they are right - but the tories now seem to be making the question "who is supported by a consensus?" and I still think at the end of the day it will be Brown that is able to say he is.

Maddison

There is still room for a targeted stimulus according to King.

Chris lancashire

What a shameful state of affairs we have arrived at where we have to thank a rebellion by a Chancellor and a Bank Governor to stop a stupidly arrogant PM from totally wrecking the economy.

Rhoda Klapp

No luck elsewhere, perhaps Luke can tell me what actual real money has been put into the economy by way of stimulus? Not buying into banks, not foregoing VAT, but actual money which has been delivered rather than merely promised.

Mike, Brighton

Luke: What "existing stimulus package"? As with everything to do with this awful government it's a spin and PR rather than action. The only "stimulus" undertaken by Brown so far is the £12Bn he has spent on the VAT cut which has had ZERO economic effect and a few insignificant odds and sods.

Publius

Luke, your party-political trolling is so blatant and so dull. Can't you rise above it?

Bocephus

Presumably you mean there will be no more scorching of the already scorched earth.

oldtimer

You say: "we can be confident that Brown will not be able to wreak irreparable damage on the public finances before he leaves office." and "the fact that there is now a check to Brown’s actions is deeply reassuring."

This is much too complacent. For many, the damage done by Brown to their personal finances is already irreparable - jobs lost, businesses bust, pensions destroyed - unless you are young enough to be able to start again. As for public finances, it looks as though it will take a decade to restore them to good order.

Brown will continue to be supported by the Paliamentary Labour party - his payroll vote. As I, and many others, have said before: turkeys do not vote for Xmas.

Jim

Wishful thinking I'm afraid. The money supply is expanding at about 18% a year. Brown has done his work, we're screwed.
King and Darling just want to avoid the blame.

David Ossitt

P.S. Sadly, there’ll be no chance for Brown to be questioned about King’s comments in the House because he’s dashing to New York ‘to save the world’ before heading to Chile for a leftist love-in.

Bless him; at least they will all pretend to listen to him.

Remember he now has only 465 days to go!

Rejoice.

notquitegaberiel

Jonathan T
The Hannan speech is possibly the best thing I have seen in a long time, unfortunately it seems to have been largely ignored by the main media. I have fount the BBCs whole reporting of Browns appearance yesterday more distasteful than normal, Mardell called it courageous and brilliant and said it went down well. I think the key phrase from Mardell was the “applause was rather more sparse than I might have expected”.

jaydeeaitch

Unfortunately David, I doubt the country can survive another 4.65 days of Brown, let alone 465.

michael m

David O

your maths has failed you- Brown has to go by the 4 June 2010- that's just 436 days in my reckoning!or just 62 weeks 2 days before he has to go to the Palace or just over 10,000 hours. Can the country last that time- BROWN'S BANKRUPTED BRITAIN!

Victor, NW Kent

Paul . If this were fiction it would indeed be morbidly fascinating. Unfortunately is is happening in real life to me and you and every UK resident that you and I know.

Brown intends to carry on repeating and amplifying the same errors until he is thrown out of No.10.

David Ossitt

Michael M.

The due date his very last day is the 3rd June 2010, but we are both wrong:-

So now comes the maths:-

1st and 2nd June 2010 = 2days
May 2010 = 31days
April 2010 = 30days
March 2010 = 31days
February 2010 = 28days
January 2010 = 31days
Dec 2009 = 31days
Nov 2009 = 30days
Oct 2009 = 31days
Sept 2009 = 30days
Aug 2009 = 31days
July 2009 = 31days
June 2009 = 30days
May 2009 = 31days
April 2009 = 30days
March 2009
not counting today = 6days

A grand total of 432; I am sorry for my error; thank you for pointing it out.

Peter

Can't we impeach him?

Liz Brown

Can we arrange to leave him over there?

luke

A few people asked, "what stimulus?"

Clearly the VAT cut was a stimulus. You cant argue it wasnt very big - but its money into the pocket of either families or firms and the fact its borrowed means it grows the economy this year (or rather lessons the decrease).

The Laughing Cavalier

" ... Brown will not be able to wreak irreparable damage on the public finances before he leaves office." He's already done it and he has both the intent and plenty of time to finish the job. Make no mistake, if he feels the need he will sack both Darling and King.

luke

Publius, why is it that people assume you cant just disagree with something (or even want to read something you disagree with).

Dull for me would be only ever reading what I already thought.

Rhoda Klapp

Luke, if the VAT cut, useless as it was, counts as a stimulus, and that's all you can think of, may we count it against all the things which have been cut, the carriers, the college building funds and so on? There is no effective stimulus. There is no net stimulus spending. There are no plans for stimulus spending per se, although some of the planned spending is designed to keep companies alive, in fact it is in the form of guarantees, which again does not mean the govt putting its hand in its pocket. Their actions have combined the maximum of expenditure with the minimum of effect. And yet the media, not excluding the Spectator, talk of it as if it was real stimulus. A hundred billion here, a trillion there, and nothing (12bn by their dodgy figures, trivial) into the actual economy.

It would be nice if some well-connected journalist did the sums on this, and confirmed or refuted that the so-called stimulus is a chimera.

The Watcher

David it's not going to be quite that long. Everyone seems pretty certain that the election is going to be on May 6th 2010, it's the same day as the locals in England and Callaghan and Major went on the equivalent dates in 1979 and 1997. There will be no point in clinging on past those elections as another decimation would destroy much of what remains of Labour. So 25 days in May 2010 after the 6th plus the 3 in June is 28, 432-28=404.

Start the countdown now!

Andy

When I saw Brown spouting in Wall St, I wondered what bad news he was running away from - then I found out about the gilts auction failure. All was revealed.

Fearless Frank

@ The Watcher: "Callaghan and Major went on the equivalent dates in 1979 and 1997"
Major hung on until the very last date he could in 97; his govt lasted the full five years from April 9, 92. Add three weeks' campaigning to get to May 1 97.