Osborne steps up his game

Moriarty

Andrew Marr paved the way for this on his, er, "show" this morning. He stated that because the latest borrowing figures (the worst on record) were lower than expected the Chancellor had several billion "in his back pocket".

In other words: if I thought I was £1000 in debt but it turns out I am £700 in debt I can spend £300 without increasing my salary.

Is Marr on a salary?

Moriarty

I meant to say: "...increase my liability".

Good job nobody ever reads my posts.

denis cooper

Maybe Osborne's got somebody new to write his articles.

strapworld

OT.

If people enjoy watching politicians crumble. 10.30pm BBC News Channel. Straight Talk. Andrew Neil's interview with Caroline Lucas of the Green Welly Party! It is a classic!

Moriarty

Strapworld.

Thanks for the heads up. I've had some dealings in a professional capacity with one of their ilk, a philosopher called Rupert Read. A nice enough chap and sound on the later Wittgenstein, but living proof that it takes a very clever person to believe patently stupid things.

djw2009

>> But Tory supporters should be encouraged that he is stepping up his rhetoric as the election approaches.

I am not going to be encouraged by his stepping up his rhetoric. I would be encouraged by a return to conservatism, which I see no sign of.

Moriarty

djw2009

Well I'm happy with the rhetoric, if it secures a victory. You might believe that in this post-Jade Goody era in which Prime Ministers collude with the public to petition the release from prison of a soap opera character; in which it is political suicide to confess a disdain for the grubby machine that is professional football; in which parents with no obvious signs of coercion christen (if we're still allowed to use that verb) their offspring "Britney" and "Dexter"; and in which the unwashed masses get their education not from Bryan Magee but from Jeremy Kyle;...you might believe that in these benighted times the election will be decided by millions of voters parsing the respective policy analyses of Osborne versus Darling. Personally I find that belief touching, but naive.

If rhetoric works then rhetoric is fine with me.

Publius

@Moriaty
"If rhetoric works then rhetoric is fine with me."

-- Agreed. The belief that there is no longer a need for political rhetoric is the great modernist delusion.

It perhaps goes without saying that there is, however, an important difference between political rhetoric and demagogy.

TGF UKIP

Anyone else notice the sudden splurge of favourable Osborne pieces from the hacks of late. Possibly, it might be instructions from CCHQ to its house mag, either that or Fraser is distributing his free rolls of wallpaper to his minions along with heavy hints that they should "big up" Boy George or else.

Trouble is, though, Pete that Osborne is the Emilio Insua of politics and just as opponents queue up on their right flank to take advantage of Liverpool's extremely fallible young Argentinian left back, so Labour and the LibDems queue up to have a pop at Osborne as easy pickings.

And just as young Emilio may have the occasional blinder from time so Osborne (or a doppelganger) might write the odd impressive article but it's all too little too late. The reputations made are beyond salvation.

Nick

Why all these misgivings about Osborne ? He has been pretty much spot-on with his economic observations and forecasts over the last two years.

He was saying 18 months ago that cuts were necessary. At that time Brown pooh-poohed the idea as that of an economic novice and claimed that Labour would not cut at all. Now both Labour and the Lib Dems are fully signed-up to Osborne's policy of the necessity of cuts.

Osborne warned that relying on deficit financing would weaken the currency, put upward pressure on inflation, and thus interest rates and cause concerns about the UK's AAA status. All of this has been proven absolutely correct.

John David Barnett

Osborne will turn out to be a great Chancellor.

Tiberius

The trouble is, TGF, that Osborne plays rather a lot of blinders to the eyes of those who are prepared to open them.

One speech had Brown flailing like an idiot over the autumn 2007 non-election. While not, perhaps, being given the opportunity to score an open goal back then, he certainly didn't hammer the ball Stuart Pearce style at the keeper's body. No, the net bulged and the rest, as they say, is history.

TGF UKIP

Don't take my word for it,Tiberius, just watch Labour and the Libdems queuing up to have a go at Osborne just as Liverpool's opponents queue up to mount all their attacks against Insua's flank. That says it all really.

The irony is that like Osborne, Insua largely owes his prominence to nepotism. As it was, Liverpool had an excellent young local boy left back Stephen Warnock but unfortunately as his name didn't end in an 'a', 'o' or 'ez', Benitez sold him for £3m to Blackburn who, after a season or so, sold him on to Villa for £8m. Just ask LFC supporters who they would prefer to see in a red shirt occupying the left back position now.

Equally, you could do a canvass of CHers and ask who they would prefer to see as Shadow Chancellor and the chances are, Tiberius, is they would probably even prefer you to Boy George. I for one am sure you'd do a far better job.

John Moss

"We shall fight them on the beaches. We shall fight them in streets. We shall fight them in the fields and on the landing grounds. We shall never surrender"

Rhetoric?

Of course it is rhetoric. But if conveying a message using imagery your audience canunderstand is rhetoric, then I'm fine with that!

stephen

Still not entirely convincing to me and maybe the electorate also!
Boy George still seems to have a penchant to go for attention grabbing things rather than coming accoss IMHO with conviction led policies.

Examples the rise in IHT threshold[a turn off to the less well off Tory party only looks after the well off!]
a crusade against Non Doms[did he check with Cashcroft before launching this?]
now the tax on banks.
Like or loath it like Marmite the City is a major earner for UK plc and tax revenues and its preminance in the 80's in the Eurodollar Markets came about by being lighter regulated and taxed say than New York. More recently with the post Enron Sarbanes Oxley[sic]
I still feel the Boy prefers headlines to real conviction politics! Like or loath 'em the new generation of elected Mayors covered in Portillo's recent TV prog shows how to re-engage with the general public maybe the lads in the Boy George bunker should take note.

Banker bashing is easy but does it really benefit UK plc? if we had followed the Yanks in the 70's and 80's London would not be the number 1 financial centre which is now hanging onto by the skin of its teeth!

John Bluewood

Shame Osborne wasn't so prescient during the bubble years, where he lamely signed up to Brown's spending plans. I'd believe him more if he'd called the alarm then.

michael

GO has finally overcome that mindbending inferiority complex with which the government had managed to imbue him.
Let honest bean counting commence.

Tiberius

John Bluewood: that is a fair point, but it was politically a non-starter.

A lot of people knew the bubble would burst, but the best of them didn't know exactly when. If Osborne had gone on to cuts before the banking crisis and a GE (say in autumn 2007) had been called, the Tories would have been slaughtered in the polls. There are many people who can't or won't acknowledge the financial crisis now, so they the electorate certainly wouldn't have wanted to give Osborne any credit for being a soothsayer.

2trueblue

Tiberius, quite agree with you, there were just a handful of people who warned about the terrible problems that were being stored up and they were not thanked for their remarks. Osbourne did not see it but then no one else telegraphed it and even now Liebore are not taking any responsibility for their large part in wrecking UK Plc. Mush easier to deflect the blame on to the US and the bankers, whilst learning no lessons at all.

Osbourne is well respected and has the makings of a good chancellor.

John Bluewood Even Warren Bufett lost billions, so not such a sage after all.