On 29 Jul 2014 at 7:19am Clifford wrote:
... in the Guardian today:
'As I am not an economist, can we have a wall-chart explaining why the global financial collapse was all the fault of the previous Labour government while the global economic recovery is wholly the result of the policies of the Conservative-led coalition?'
On 29 Jul 2014 at 9:45am Historian wrote:
It's quite simple really Clifford, it's down to who is actually in charge of the Country at the time. And how they are running it, or running behind it in some cases.
On 29 Jul 2014 at 10:08am Thomas Jerome Newton wrote:
oh dear Historian - did you deliberately miss the point of the letter?
read it again
On 29 Jul 2014 at 12:23pm Chris wrote:
Strictly speaking, it's not a global economic recovery. France, for example, is not in recovery and probably won't be for a while since all of its entrepreneurs are over here.
On 29 Jul 2014 at 8:16pm Boris wrote:
The Guardian, say no more.
Clifford, could you say with your hand on your heart that if Labour had won the last election the country would have recovered in the way that it has under the coalition.
On 29 Jul 2014 at 10:22pm Andrew James wrote:
It's quite simple, the global crisis was down to a continued distancing of government from banking by Gordon Brown's cumulative de-regulations of the finance sector, having long since abandoned any idea of not being a party entirely focussed on The City.
Ultimately the banks were given free reign to indulge in riskier and riskier gambling using the world's economy as their stake. Then one day a gamle was lost.
The caveat to this though, is that Brown was constantly berated by Tory frontbenchers for not deregulating more & quicker.
So, Boris,do you think the global crises wouldn't have happened sooner and bigger if Cons were in power?
For my part, I wonder what would have happened before or after the crisis, were there a center left party in the mix. However you want to look at it, the GFC, and its extraordinarily slow recovery, is directly down to right wing economic ideology.
Except for you Boris of course, with your "Putin is a staunch Communist" comment, you've got your own worldview that defies conventional taxonomy or logic. Until you can use the same terms of reference as everybody else, it's a meaningless question. And answer.
On 30 Jul 2014 at 5:26am Zzz.. wrote:
It was Thatcher who deregulated the UKs financial markets and allowed this countries banks to play fast and loose with finances. No one else. Without her act banks like RBS and HBOS would not have been on the point of collapse or required saving.
On 30 Jul 2014 at 1:16pm Taff wrote:
Boris, no way the economy would be where it is today had Labour remained in government. I would want to estimate where we, as a nation, might be on the recovery curve but I would predict that the already rich may not be as rich as they find themselves today and the already poor wouldnt find themselves as poor as they are today. That characteristic will never leave the Tories ethic.
On 30 Jul 2014 at 4:45pm Humbert wrote:
Zzz.. and Taff can I just point out, in 1997 Labour said they'd regulate the City. What happened to that promise after the election?
On 30 Jul 2014 at 7:49pm Boris wrote:
"The Tories ethic" the ethic that has got this country out of the crap it was left in when Labour got voted out.
The French went down the lets tax the rich route and look where it has got them.
On 30 Jul 2014 at 10:17pm wrote:
Into a far more balanced, meritocratic and socially mobile society than the UK will ever see.
On 31 Jul 2014 at 8:00am Zzz.. wrote:
There's no dispute there Humbert. I was merely loiting out an innuracy in the OP. Both major parties have served us badly.
The economy appears to be recovering but when you look further into the figures the divide between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' is now quite massive and it is only the 'haves' that see any benefit. Things for the 'have-nots' are worse than they have ever been. (And there are now many, many more 'have-nots' than there have been in recent decades as the numbers of low-waged and underemployed have grown and the cost of living increased).
This will become much more obvious as the sh1t hits the fan once interest rates rise.
On 31 Jul 2014 at 4:56pm Clifford wrote:
Boris wrote: 'Clifford, could you say with your hand on your heart that if Labour had won the last election the country would have recovered in the way that it has under the coalition.'
I'm not a Labour supporter, far from it. But the economy was recovering by the time of the 2010 election. Tory/Lib Dem austerity put that recovery back a couple of years. Most reputable economists recognise that.
On 1 Aug 2014 at 1:56pm Taff wrote:
The more of society that has more money to spend boosts both business and society. The very rich dont pay more for thier fish and chips but there is a lower percentage of the very rich so less money is distributed.