Brown's big lie

Thortung

This government is more like a dictatorship every day.

Wily Trout

There's an article in today's Times about cuts to the Police. But they are 'efficiency savings' of course. Labour efficiency savings, Tory cuts. They must think the voters are really, really stupid. Hope to god they aren't right. But nowadays 25% of the workforce, and therefore quite a big proportion of the voters, are of course in the public sector and on the receiving end of the cuts. So Labour's own client state will be taking the impact. Interesting.

Ivan D

Given the numptie hysteria you've given vent to about immigratuion in the last 24 hours - fundamentally misunderstanding basic economics in the process - knock off the 'Brown lies!' cr*p. For while he does, he's not the only one. Unless, obviously, you sincerely want to stand by your absurd Screws claim to have "revealed" that "immigrants have taken (or created) all the new jobs in the British private sector". In which you're not, of course, a liar, merely a fool.

boulay

hi fraser,
it is all very well to expose the lie on the internet and in the spectator in print but those of us who read these articles already know the lie inside-out.

the key is getting the mainstream press (ok - except obviously the mirror) to reprint these figures in a way that any idiot can understand even if this means showing the scale-down in terms of beer consumption or designer shoes!

You seem to have great contacts in the mainstream media and should be pressing them to hammer these figures down the government's throats - even, if necessary, helping them to produce tables that demonstrate the lie simply.

unfortunately the mainstream media is still the source of news for the majority of voters and it is vital that someone can get the story repeated constantly.

(perhaps i should have lumped the beeb with the mirror as refuseniks as well!)

councilhousetory

Brilliant post, keep up the good work.

David

It is good that the Today programme has finally got someone econcomically literate doing the interviews. There is also an interesting change of tone on the part of the BBC. As power seeps away we see a less deferential approach and a greater tendency to call the more obvious deceits. This has been particularly apparent on the Yesterday in Parliment programme. You provide essential base material for such interviews and challenges and undoubtedly assisted DC in PMQs last week. Thank you for your efforts.

richardj

On the streets - refuse to pay tax and other sums due to the governemnt - any other suggestions.

DavefromLuton

How long before Cameron calls Brown a liar in the House, refuses to withdraw and gets named by the Speaker?
Would be an interesting confrontation!

A Theologian

Thortung
This government is more like a dictatorship every day.

No: it already is.

Slim Jim

It's pretty clear that Team Brown are backing themselves down a cul-de-sac. The increasingly shrill, predictable, partisan pish they are spouting is getting quite tiresome. Of course the nasty Tories are proposing cuts to give their rich chums tax cuts. It's got nothing to do with repaying enormous national debts or 'living within our means' (a term I believe Mandelson used). Let's hope that the likes of Evan can keep up the pressure and expose the lies.

John

I am genuinely seething with rage.

john miller

Haha! I see Balls is starting to use the word "deft". Implying efficiency savings will enable higher expenditure but no tax increases. Coming from someone who worked in the same room as Brown and McBride I doubt Balls had come across the word until Mandy waved a Thesaurus under his nose.

And while I'm on, this lot are lying so blatantly now, not caring that we know that they know that we know, I beginning to think there will be a terrorist alert next year. I can see Brown now on the Beeb, telling us that the chaos of a general election would be fatal for the country.

James J

It hardly matters what message the government puts out as the public now use a type of “Record Ukrainian Harvest” “Tractor production up again in Stalingrad” type filter.

Nothing the government puts out is believed. Crime figures, immigration, the reasons for war, E.U Referendum …nothing

Wily Trout
Even the public sector knows there will be cuts, like everyone else they just hope most will fall on other departments. Speak to anyone in the public or private sector and it is about how deep the cuts will be and whether we will ever be as relatively wealthy, as a country, again.

trevorsden

Your the numpty Ivan

David Leaver

Is the D in Ivan, Damian (McBride)?

Lee H

As boulay says, unless you get it in the main stream press it doesn't mean anything. Madelson is already using the press to get an alternative message out there and swamp the media

Trumpeter Lanfried

Why does an intelligent man like Mandleson assume that the typical listener to Radio 4's flagship current affairs programme is stupid?

Ivan Dunnow

Yeah, the D is as in Damian McBride. *Everyone* who objects to tame tribal lying, even when it's on our side, is a secret agent of Broonism. You loon.

davidke

the bigger the lie the better. he may well get away with it.

Denis Cooper

Undoubtedly correct, but too complicated for mass consumption; and in any case, it could be misinterpreted as a criticism of Brown for planning to spend less than he says ... and I thought you wanted him to spend less? :-)

I think it's time for the opposition to start asking a very simple, very blunt question every time the government moots some increase in spending:

"Where are you going to get the money for that?"

and then immediately follow up with:

"You're already having to borrow a quarter of everything you spend; you're already having to borrow a billion pounds every working day ..."

MisterE

DavefromLuton - good point.

If Cameron stood up at PMQs, called Brown a liar, and refused to withdraw it would make headline news... every paper & tv news bulletin would run the story, and would have to explain why Cameron called Brown a liar in the first place...

Irene

Cameron's news conference earlier this morning was brilliant - he just fell short of calling Brown an outright liar, but Joey Jones on Sky said he is sure it will come soon - Cameron also offered to give up one of the opposition days to facilitate Lord Mandelson with regard to the Post Office, Mandelson said there wasn't time to get it through before the Summer recess, Cameron kicked the ball firmly in Mandelson's court - interesting to see if Cameron mentions this again at PMQ's.

Keep up the good work Fraser.

Tiberius

You're playing a blinder, Fraser.
The bad-tempered posts are testimony to that.

Gawain

The real issue this raises is the complete impotence of Parliament. An unelected minister is used to make a major policy announcement to a patsy newspaper. What is the point of all the select committees, question times and debates? What is the point of having a Chancellor of the Exchequer? What is the point of the Speaker of the Commons asking for statements to be made to the elected House of Commons? Above all, who is the Treasury working for, the Labour Party? I don't know why Brown isn't just honest and announce that the election will be cancelled.

Simon Stephenson

Ivan D : 12.09pm

I'll second this. Distorting your case for effect is not lying, but it might as well be for the damage it does to your reputation if discovered.

For heaven's sake, there's enough power in the truth to sink this government ten times over. Don't throw away the opportunity by getting tarred with the same brush as they are.

TGF UKIP

Fraser, unfortunately you don't do interviews on the telly, your fellow jockocrat Marr does and never of course does he press his pal Gordon.

Don't the party leaders do a Marr interview, though, before they break up for the Summer recess? If so why don't you put Marr publicly on the spot by using your NoW and Fanzine columns prior to the interview to formulate the questions and the wriggling/lying prevention follow ups, tell your readers you are e-mailing them to your pal Andrew and invite them to judge whether or not he appeared to really want to get a proper answer from Gordon.

No use relying on Dave - he don't/can't do figures and as for your mate Boy George a quote from a Tory backbencher " We could really do with a full scale Commons debate on the economy but we daren't have one because Osborne would just make a bloody fool of himself again."

Herbert Thornton

"Brown's claim that he'd increase public service spending year after year is not an exaggeration, it is a lie."

But is it a lie? My fear is that is is the truth -and that in order to increase spending Brown will simply print as much as he feels is required.

First there was the Weimar inflation. Much more recently there was the Mugabe inflation. Now Brown is steering Britain in the same direction.

What will happen then - to whom will people turn as their money becomes quickly worthless? And in what way will the presence of Britain's large Islamic community affect the outcome?

Julie Hauserman

I have just asked for epetition to 10 asking for the Gov Department Spending Review to be published March 2010 - see what happens and see it is gets allowed on the site!

Thomas Rossetti

Good article, Fraser. I agree with you that the internet will expose Brown's lies. I hope that you (and the other good journalists out there) keep hounding him.

Daveyone

Gordon Brown has not been elected as Prime Minister he was not even voted for as Labour leader by his party, he did not put a Labour candidate up against David Davis last year so how can someone with such a disregard for democracy have any further ligitamacy in office?
In addition to the financial mistakes this guy, who spent 10 years at the top of the treasury, has left us with he has also brought words into our vocabluary such as Starlinist Brown, Orwellian and Soviet Britain so he has well passed his sell by date and needs to go to the country TODAY!

Hutch

The incompetance and duplicity of the Prime Minister is such that he will be found out. How will he be punished for his arrogance. Bring back impeachment and the stocks.

Joe Wright

Not only should David Cameron call Brown a liar in the House but all the Tory MPs should accompany him on his dismissal. Confronting the PM with a rational argument is a waste of time.

paul holdstock

picture the scene,
john prescot returns to be the 'fat controller' of the east coast line.
his first action, to commission a new steam locomotive, with browns' face on the front, as in 'thomas the tank engine'.
he names the loco,
" The Lying Scotsman".

Shakassoc

@ Trumpeter Lanfried

'Why does an intelligent man like Mandleson assume that the typical listener to Radio 4's flagship current affairs programme is stupid?'

He is using precisely the same strategy as Goebbels: If you repeat a lie loud enough and often enough, eventually people will believe it. Mandelson is intelligent just as Goebbels was.

TomTom

'Why does an intelligent man like Mandleson assume that the typical listener to Radio 4's flagship current affairs programme is stupid?

because he was a TV producer with John Birt at LTV and has the smug supercilious attitude that is the hallmark of the modern Briton as they mask shallowness with haughty condescension

Lola Olukotun

Hi, i was wondering if u could read my poem and tell me what you thought about it and maybe help me to get it published in the times?

The child screams in pain,
But no one seems to hear,
The whole world continues,
As the child screams again.

The woman is crying,
the tears flowing down her cheeks,
the whole world continues,
but she hasnt eaten in weeks.

The well has dirty water,
the taste bad and toxic,
the whole world continues,
as a child of 3 drinks it.

the guns are shot continuously,
each bang! takes a life,
the whole world continues,
gangs keep carrying knives.

the bombs keep exploding,
the soldiers are dying
the whole world continues,
as their wives start crying.

the bank is empty,
no money is there
the whole world continues,
though theres no money to spare

the MPs are spending cash,
they are abusing their roles,
the whole world continues,
so in OUR pockes are holes

the whole world continues,
the whole world continues,
while everything bad happens,
the whole world continues.

if we keep going, will the whole world continue?

-Child Poverty
-Famine
-Dirty Water in poor countries
-Gang violence
-Wars around the world
-The recession
-MP unjust expenses

Maybe if the whole world STOPS; we will come to our sense.

CHANGE THE WORLD

Jacob

Sorry but why is inexorably rising public spending a good thing anyway? I think, on balance, the public would now prefer to see cuts as they know the money is usually spent inefficiently and/or on generous final salary pension schemes (which can be taken at age 60).