So we lost our AAA rating then George

[applelover]

Moody's are the first ratings agency to cut our AAA rating. George Orborne's two main arguments against the painfulobvious abject failure of this government's economic policy were (i) we've still got a AAA rating (ii) we're reducing the deficit.

Considering that George has not met either of these aims should he resign?

 

[Lancashire shrimper]

With a sustained flat base rate and an over-dependency on Quantitive Easing, a cut in Britains AAA rating has been long overdue,

Labours answer would be having Ed Balls as Chancellor which would be an abject failure of the British Constitution.

 

[BrettieAngell]

With a sustained flat base rate and an over-dependency on Quantitive Easing, a cut in Britains AAA rating has been long overdue,

Labours answer would be having Ed Balls as Chancellor which would be an abject failure of the British Constitution.

yeah thats the problem the alternative to what we've got is a joke and thats coming from a tory hater.

 

[superblue24]

Yep, because the way things were headed with labour, we'd have never been in this mess, right?

Clueless.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Yep, because the way things were headed with labour, we'd have never been in this mess, right?

Clueless.

who is that aimed at?

 

[OldBlueLady]

who is that aimed at?

I'd say the OP.

I wish politicians would just stop trying to score points off each other all the time and concentrate on the job in hand.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Moody's are the first ratings agency to cut our AAA rating. George Orborne's two main arguments against the painfulobvious abject failure of this government's economic policy were (i) we've still got a AAA rating (ii) we're reducing the deficit.

Considering that George has not met either of these aims should he resign?

Yes but he won't because he's not a man of honour.

 

[Neil_F]

Yes but he won't because he's not a man of honour.

Please. Did Gordon Brown resign when it turned out he hadn't ended boom n'bust???

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Moody's are the first ratings agency to cut our AAA rating. George Orborne's two main arguments against the painfulobvious abject failure of this government's economic policy were (i) we've still got a AAA rating (ii) we're reducing the deficit.

Considering that George has not met either of these aims should he resign?

AAA rating. Is that a gauge of how much of a scouser you are?

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

This would, maybe should, have happened a year ago and must have been fully expected by the markets etc. I think that it may be an occurrence that Osbourne wanted to happen as he can then give the a further twist to the austerity plans & also allow Cameroon to pull out of some of the foreign aid stuff.
As with other posters this lot of tories are terrible but the reds would be worse; there is no valid opposition or alternative at present.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Yes but he won't because he's not a man of honour.

Name me one of them who is?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Please. Did Gordon Brown resign when it turned out he hadn't ended boom n'bust???

He'd moved up to the top job bythen.

Name me one of them who is?

Fair point.Dennis Skinner and one or two other back benchers come to mind.

 

[Cricko]

Please. Did Gordon Brown resign when it turned out he hadn't ended boom n'bust???

I would be interested to know how/or what you think The Tories would of done any different when the world banks collapsed?

 

[superblue24]

I would be interested to know how/or what you think The Tories would of done any different when the world banks collapsed?

I doubt they'd have sold all our gold reserves for peanuts.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I doubt they'd have sold all our gold reserves for peanuts.

You'll remember though (I imagine) that the Tories were initially very much opposed to the nationalisation/bail out of Northern Rock.

 

[Neil_F]

He'd moved up to the top job bythen.

What difference does that make? He massively increased public spending on the basis that tax revenue was permanent because he had abolished boom and bust. He was wrong and his legacy was a 12% budget deficit. Shouldn't he have resigned by your logic?

Dennis Skinner and one or two other back benchers come to mind.

You clearly haven't looked at his expenses claims...

 

[Neil_F]

Cricko - probably nothing. They claimed at the time they would have facilitated a private deal for Northern Rock with Lloyds. I doubt that would have been possible. It wouldn't have changed much anyway.

The main problem was not what happened immediately after 2008 but what happened for the 20 years before it where governments permitted mergers and takeovers that reduced the number of banks in the system. They also made it impossible for new banks to be started.

That meant 2008 saw us with only six banks. Letting them go to the wall therefore wasn't an option. This remains the biggest problem with the banking system today.

In my view it is impossible to prevent another banking crash. No amount of regulation or supervision is going to do it. It may be in five years, it may be in fifty, but the banking system as it currently stands would have to be bailed out again because there are too few banks and they are all too big. I would break the current banks up and make it easier to setup a bank by drastically reducing the volume of regulation, especially on how much capital must be held.

My regulator would then ensure that banks didn't become too big so that they threatened the stability of the system. If one got into trouble I would let it go bust and there would be enough other banks to prevent contagion.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

What difference does that make? He massively increased public spending on the basis that tax revenue was permanent because he had abolished boom and bust. He was wrong and his legacy was a 12% budget deficit. Shouldn't he have resigned by your logic?

Dunno about resigned but I've always agreed with Bruce Grocott,(now Lord Grocott),who used to be Blair's PPS and was one of my former lecturers at Brum Poly,who was quoted in Chris Mullen's excellent diaries, to the effect that Brown was far too precipitous in declaring that he'd abolished boom and bust.As you've remarked yourself though,hindsight is a wonderful thing.

You clearly haven't looked at his expenses claims

...
You're quite right.But I'm aware that Dennis is the MP for Bolsover in Derbyshire and maintains a flat in London(which he used to share with Eric Heffer,IIRC).I'm sure that his expenses must be completely in order otherwise he'd have been forced to resign as so many other MP's were.

 

[Neil_F]

You're quite right.But I'm aware that Dennis is the MP for Bolsover in Derbyshire and maintains a flat in London(which he used to share with Eric Heffer,IIRC).I'm sure that his expenses must be completely in order otherwise he'd have been forced to resign as so many other MP's were.

Yes, they deploy the defence that it is all within the rules. Strangely these are the same MPs who then acuse companies of being morally bankrupt when they arrange their tax affairs "within the rules." Hard to believe MPs could be hypocritical isn't it?

 

[londonblue]

Name me one of them who is?

Tony Benn?