Fraser Nelson 12:40pm
In his highly entertaining press conference yesterday, Ed Balls referred to “low inflation.” Today’s inflation bombshell makes such a claim impossible. Against expectations of 2.6% CPI for April, the figure is 3% - the highest rise in six years. This is hugely political. The cost of living is top doorstep issue - so it’s important to establish why Gordon Brown speaks with forked tongue when he blames it all “global turbulence”. Today’s inflation report repays closer examination. My thoughts:-
1) Plunging pound. Since Brown took over the pound has nosedived and is now 12% weaker in general – literally...
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James Forsyth 10:47am
John Rentoul, who has always been sceptical of Brown’s chances and abilities, thinks that Frank Field’s attack on Brown might have been a tipping point: “But his personal unkindness may have broken some kind of barrier, and now all the scenarios for how Brown might go are being canvassed and seem plausible. What, now, if ministers were to resign, saying that the party cannot win with Brown as leader?”
In the febrile atmosphere at Westminster at the moment, anything seems possible. Rumours that would have been dismissed out of hand just a few weeks ago, now seem plausible. If Labour does lose the Crewe and Nantwitch by-election, the temperature will rise another few degrees.
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Peter Hoskin 9:04am
Gloomy reading on the cover of the FT this morning – apparently, our economy's heading ever more swiftly to stagnation and slowdown. New data reveals that confidence in the housing market has hit “rock bottom”; retail spending is dropping; and inflation is sky-rocketing. A dangerous, fiscal cocktail, indeed.
Of course, it's far from good news for the Prime Minister. On a straightforward level, it makes his job more difficult – it's so much easier to reign when the economy's booming – but it may also make it untenable. As Fraser noted the...
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James Forsyth 1:22am
Given the speed and nature of current events, there is a real danger that we in the press start to hyperventilate, declaring the Brown government doomed before breakfast every day. But the piece by Neal Lawson, the chair of Compass, in The Independent calling on Brown to return to the Treasury for the good of the movement does seem like a seismic moment. (Although, Compass has been critical of Brown recently this is the first time it has called on the leader to step down)
Compass cannot be dismissed as...
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Fraser Nelson 7:14pm
Good old Ed Balls. He has just given a lobby briefing attacking Tory education plans - at least that was his plan. But he ended up speaking about everything under the sun - Cherie's pregnancy, the wickedness of Frank Field, the hopelessness of Crewe, the errors of the 10p Budget, why Labour is "behind the curve" on family finances. He walked into bear trap after bear trap. The lobby loved it, unable to believe their luck. All of this eclipsed his orginal attack message.
As CoffeeHousers know, I'm keen on education...
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