Labour has, predictably, accused George Osborne of “talking down” the pound for his comment that Brown’s reckless borrowing risks a run on sterling. Gordon Brown, doing his best father of the nation impersonation, says that he regrets the “partisan talk from the opposition”. But the truth is that Osborne’s warning is right; what Brown is doing at the moment is incredibly irresponsible and he deserves to be called out on it.
Brown has long tried to rule huge chunks of criticism of him out of bounds. Anyone who questioned his economic management was talking down the economy, and now anyone who points out the dangers in his approach is talking down the pound. Indeed, Brown’s disgraceful accusation at PMQs that David Cameron was playing politics with the death of Baby P was typical of his approach. This is not an uncommon political tactic—Republican partisans used to claim that anyone who criticised the execution of the Iraq war was criticising the troops—but it is bogus.
The Tory response to the economic crisis has not been great. Too often, they have let themselves be boxed in by Labour. But if this intervention marks the start of a concerted effort to tell the public just what Brown is doing and risking then it is a welcome development. Osborne has been prematurely written off before; remember how during the Brown summer everyone blamed him for underestimating Brown’s political skills. Today’s interview suggests he might be about to bounce back again.
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