Growth no more
Peter Hoskin 10:55am
The latest economic growth statistics - which show that growth in the second quarter of 2008 stood at a less-than-impressive 0 percent - deny Brown one of his proudest boasts; that the UK economy's enjoyed "63 quarters of successive growth". Annual growth remains positive at 1.4 percent, though, so I expect he'll replace it with something like "Year-on-year, this country's enjoyed continuous growth under New Labour." That is if he's still using the New Labour epithet.
But quite aside from constraining our Prime Minister at the dispatch box, the figures are worrying in themselves. Now a recession is looking near-certain, and it seems as though it's coming sooner rather than later. Indeed, the industrial economy is already in recession.
One of the political narratives of the past year has been that voters are, to some extent, laying the blame for their fiscal woes at Brown's feet. As the economy worsens, his grip on power has become looser and looser. Unless the much-vaunted recovery plan turns out to be a miracle cure (and, as Martin Vander Weyer writes in the latest issue, it's difficult to see how it can be), the economic tides look set to weaken Brown's position even further.
P.S. For more on the growth statistics, head over to Trading Floor.
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The Huntsman
August 22nd, 2008 12:16pmGiven Brown's dreary recitation of Tractor Production Statistics, cutting off this particular avenue closes off yet another means of Labour taking credit for something which is not theirs to claim, allowing for the fact that this run started under the Tories and had by the time the Socialists regained power in 1997 had already run for five years (more or less).
On the other hand the Tories can now claim that Brown has managed utterly to trash this inheritance and point to it as the final nail in the (rather small) coffin of his reputation for economic prudence.
The ground is now fully laid for asserting that every time we make the grave error of allowing Labour to have power, we end up broke and in debt up to our eyeballs. The myth of Labour economic competence can thus be demonstrated for the cow's ordure that it really is.
The politics apart, though, it is the swiftness of the change from last year that has been so stunning. Perhaps it seems so bad to us older voters who lived through the almost perpetual economic crises of the late 1960s and 1970s when our prostration was so prolonged.
We should now, IMHO, be building a long-term narrative about Labour and how it always, always ends in tears, and that we must never allow them into power again if we want to avoid another inevitable bout of Labour-driven national impoverishment.
Nicholas
August 22nd, 2008 1:19pmI concur with the Huntsman's every sentiment but I'm not sure the conclusion is about "Labour" per se. Is it not more that the socialist ideology and apparatus that works behind the duplicitous, conniving, shape-shifting facade of Labour old and new is to be finally discredited and utterly destroyed?
mitch
August 22nd, 2008 2:03pmUnless he stashed away hundreds of billions of pounds he now plans to return to its rightful owners he is toast.
He cant borrow,he has spent everything,there's nothing left to sell what's left eh?
daniel
August 22nd, 2008 3:20pmIf Osborne thinks one quarter on no economic growth means a recession - it just goes to show what an economic incompetent she really is. The fact is that uk GDP growth is above France, (Right wing government), Italy (Right wing) Germany (right wing) USA (right wing). The idea that this is a uk issue is absurd and you know it is, Osborne is spin, spin, spin, and needs a few more lessons in basic economics.
TGF UKIP
August 22nd, 2008 10:35pmThe Huntsman of course is entirely right. The question is, though, given the scale of incompetent, corrupt mismanagement why this Opposition cannot well and truly stick it to this Government.
Just imagine how the Labour Opposition would have even more ferociously shredded poor old Major's government if it had been even half so bad.
Crap Government we may have but we have an even lamer Opposition.
Hysteria
August 23rd, 2008 9:28amI agree with TGF on this one - the tories are almost invisible in opposition - enough of this "let's not scare the electorate" stuff and start laying out the policies - we need to get the electorate prepared for some tough years