Via Guido I find that Charlie has surfaced in the Strathy and is at his hypocritical and condescending best. He obviously regards anyone in the area as a hick. Well worth a read just to have a good laugh.
He might just find out that the people of the area are a bit more aware than he thinks about the sort of sewer rat he is.
Sir, - As your Labour correspondent Charlie Whelan is implicated in the production of the scurrilous emails by Damien McBride at 10 Downing Street, I trust (not a word the special advisor or political officer group would recognise) that you will ensure his rapid exit from your team. Perhaps across the railing of the Moet roof garden on the 10th floor of Strathy Towers!
Will be another embarrassment for Gordon's Government and indeed the Civil Service.
Update: What the CPS said
I have considered whether there is evidence of any additional damage caused by the leaks in question. I have concluded that the information leaked was not secret information or information affecting national security:
It did not relate to military, policing or intelligence matters. It did not expose anyone to a risk of injury or death. Nor, in many respects, was it highly confidential. Much of it was known to others outside the civil service, for example, in the security industry or the Labour Party or Parliament. Moreover, some of the information leaked undoubtedly touched on matters of legitimate public interest, which were reported in the press.
If the Civil Service wanted the police to investigate Damian Green over some minor leaks which now appears to have been all hyperbole, makes you wonder why they won't look into the McBride affair a little bit more thoroughly. Even the Sun wants to know!
Perhaps there are still some more e-mails or other embarrassing documents out there just waiting to be found?
Why the families need to take legal action is beyond me. The Coroner has already issued a verdict of unlawful killing and criticised the MoD's decision not to fit "explosive suppressant foam" (ESF) around the plane's fuel tanks, which experts said could have saved their lives. This means that the MOD surely has a legal liability to pay Compensation and as the report says the MOD have already said
"Our deepest sympathies remain with the families of the RAF and Army personnel who lost their lives when hostile fire shot down Hercules XV179 in January 2005," he said.
"We have apologised to the families for the shortcomings identified at the inquest and by our Board of Inquiry, and we have enhanced the protection of our aircraft, including fitting explosive suppressant foam to all Hercules operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The MoD awaits the full details of this legal challenge from the families' lawyers. Compensation is always paid in cases where there is a proven legal liability."
Compensation should be paid without the need for recourse to taking legal action which can only be more distressing for the families of the victims.
Surely the mixture of Smeargate and Alcoholics on the bru is a mistake!
Mr Purnell defended Gordon Brown’s response to the smears against Conservatives planned by Damian McBride.
“Gordon Brown acted swiftly and fully as soon as he found about this. He accepted the resignation of Damian McBride he then wrote to every involved expressing his regret and has asked for the system to be strengthened,” he said.
"This was shocking and totally unacceptable way to behave and the Prime Minister has dealt with that".
Mr Purnell also said that the government was taking action to identify alcoholics who were claiming benefits, by sharing data between agencies and offering help to those people,
"It's not of any help to an individual or a families if we just allow them to remain an alcoholic and have their lives blighted by it," he said.
"If we can help people to get sober that can help make a massive difference to their lives”.
Once upon a time in a far off country their lived some pigs who wanted to rule and they were, the Old Major who sadly died before he came to real power, Snowball who took over from the Old Major and ruled the country for a while trying to do good things but ultimately failing before being knifed in the back by, Napoleon a true tyrant and a villain, who then ruled the country aided by his puppies, Jessie and Bluebell and his right hand man Squealer who manipulated the country to excuse, justify, and extol all of Napoleon's actions.
And then one day Squealer, on his master's orders went just a little bit too far...
"What people have to understand is that this crisis started in America before spreading to Britain. It was in America, not here, that these people started to publish their blogs. When the practice then caught on in Britain we no idea that it would get out of hand so quickly and lead to these problems.
And of course I have regrets that I did not stop the mostly right-wing people who started using these blogs to criticise the government. That's something I am sorry happened. And I also regret that then certain people who used to work for me, and have met from time to time, started planning ways to respond to these unfair attacks on me by right wing bloggers. They were a little too enthusiastic and got caught. Again, that is something I regret.
But I don't think focussing on such tittle-tattle for a minute longer helps anyone, least of all me. Instead, we need to remember that this blogging started in America and spread here. Now we must focus on taking the decisive action to stop this blogging doing any more damage to me, I mean before it does any more damage to public confidence in our political process. And it started in America. Thank you."
Update: The Excuse, I didn't do it, a fat boy snuck up and did it and now i'll stop all the fat boys
Dear Gus I am writing about the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, and the proposals I want to make to tighten this up. I am assured that no minister and no political adviser other than the person involved had any knowledge of or involvement in these private emails that are the subject of current discussion. I have already taken responsibility for acting on this - first by accepting Mr McBride's resignation and by making it clear to all concerned that such actions have no part to play in the public life of our country. I have also written personally to all those who were subject to these unsubstantiated claims. Mr McBride has apologised and done so unreservedly. But it is also important to make sure such behaviour does not happen again. Any activity such as this that affects the reputation of our politics is a matter of great regret to me and I am ready to take whatever action is necessary to improve our political system. I would therefore now like a more explicit assurance included in the special advisers Code of Conduct that not only are the highest standards expected of political advisers but that the preparation or dissemination of inappropriate material or personal attacks have no part to play in the job of being a special adviser, just as it has no part to play in the conduct of all our public life. I also think it right to make it a part of the special advisers contract by asking our political advisers to sign such an assurance and to recognise that if they are ever found to be preparing and disseminating inappropriate material they will automatically lose their jobs. I think you will agree that all of us in public life have a responsibility to ensure that those we employ and who are in involved in our parties observe the highest standards. Like the overwhelming majority of figures in public life across the political spectrum, I entered politics because of a sense of public duty and to improve the lives and opportunities of those less fortunate than me. My undivided focus as prime minister is on acting to make Britain a fairer, safer and more prosperous nation and, in particular, on guiding the country through the current economic difficulties. The public would expect no less and would also expect the highest possible standards from all their politicians and all those who work for them.
Yours sincerely Gordon Brown
Why bother the current code of conduct for SpAds already covers what McBride did and he should have been sacked and not allowed to resign.
Two articles in the last couple of days highlight the impact the current recession is having on the Oil and Gas industry and how it will impact Aberdeen and the North-East of Scotland in particular. The first in the FT is here and the second in the Herald is here.
As usual at the root of the causes is the way this government has such a short-term view on how to tax the industry and the time it takes them then to react to changes. Labour has consistently managed to ensure that companies regard the North Sea as a risky place to invest because of the ever changing taxes and rules that they apply. This is detrimental to the long term investment decisions that the Oil and Gas companies must make to develop new and modified sources of Oil and Gas and drives them to invest in other areas of the world where the fiscal model is more geared to the long term.
A year ago I had this to say on what Gordon was doing to the Oil industry. It seems that what I was saying then has come to pass quicker than even I expected. I reiterate what I said then
This just goes to show that despite our "Jonah" trying to sell himself as a wonderful Leader and former Chancellor is nothing of the sort. He has dug the UK into a deep hole and now has nothing to extract us from it.
Now, in this difficult period, we see the huge impact that this has on the Industry and its future in the UK. Investments dry up quicker than in other areas as risk is lower. As a result of this the government itself loses, not only just now, when the tax revenues are at their most needed, but also in the future, when we will need to pay off the huge debts that Gordon Brown has burdened the country.
It is worth reflecting on the fact that the FT quotes the fact that about 1 in 8 of the 400,000 jobs in the the Oil and Gas Industry may well go in the next two years, the majority centred around the NE of Scotland. If this does come to pass this will be a disaster for the area which has little other sustainable industries to fall back on. Urgent action by the Government is required, unfortunately, having taken and spent the money in the good times, they have nothing now left to fall back on, which gives rise to a pretty bleak outlook for the future of the industry and the whole area.
The following was written by Guido on the My blogs part of the Telegraph. Makes interesting reading on their part in this whole shabby affair.
I quote
There are a lot of bitter, jealous journalists at the Telegraph and you have behaved shamefully over the McBride story. You even tipped off Downing Street in advance as to exactly what I was up to. It reflects on you a lot more than it does on me.
You revealed sources, broke a confidence, breached a signed non-disclosure agreement and behaved like patsy's for McBride.
You still failed to spoil the story. Your political team is about as weak as it gets, that is why you sucked up to Downing Street.
The Telegraph was once run by gentlemen for gentlemen. This would never have happened under Deedes or Charles Moore.
A couple of days ago I wrote about the fire at Strachans in Aboyne. What I hadn't thought of was that just a day later we would have a Chimney Fire in our house. Luckily there was no major damage and just some embarrassment at having to call the Fire Brigade. If you look closely at the photograph above you will see that the metal grate at the top of the Chimney is heavily blackened, it was at one point glowing a very good shade of red with the heat.
The fire itself was caused by something that should not have been in the fire. Just at the end of the night we were burning some extra cardboard and in a box of cardboard someone had put an aerosol can of Lynx deodorant and a plastic inhaler, why and who we are not sure.
I had not long put the box into the fire and replaced the Fire Guard when we heard a small pop this, we think, was a small plastic inhaler used by one of my sons. I was just looking at the fire to see what had caused this when there was an enormous bang as the aerosol can exploded. The force of the blast blew the fire guard out of the fireplace and sprayed ashes and sparks around our lounge. Luckily, even though I was only sitting about 4-5 feet from the fire, the guard did it's job and stopped most of them from getting past it. Almost immediately we could hear a roaring as the chimney went on fire with the debris blown up the flue.
By now smoke alarms were going off around the house, we have 4 all mains and inter-connected, we dialed 999 and got the fire brigade called out as it looked as if the fire was taking hold. I then poured water on the fire to extinguish it and shut the doors to the lounge to try and stop the fire. Luckily it burnt itself out fairly quickly and within 5 minutes all signs of smoke and flames had stopped coming out of the chimney.
The fire brigade, despite being located 6 miles away and being a retained crew, arrived within 15 minutes and checked the house out thoroughly with a heat-sensing camera to ensure it truly was out. After a quick cup of coffee and filling in a report about the fire they were off happy not to have had as much work as the previous day.
It was only then I realised how lucky we had been. If the guard had not been up it is likely that the whole lounge would have been showered with red hot debris and sparks and we could have had a much more serious situation. As it is we got away with no damage apart from our blushes. The combination of melted plastic and other debris could have caused quite serious injuries apart from setting fire to the lounge. The photo below shows the two offending articles.
The other thing we realised was how lucky we are to have retained firemen available in our rural area as if the the EU has it's way we may not be so lucky. I'm glad to see that this is an area that our local prospective Conservative Councilor Jo Pick is highlighting in her campaign for the local by-election on the 23rd April 2009. As usual we see the Lib Dems at their hypocritical best saying they support the opt out of the EU directive when one of their number in Scotland voted to end the opt out along with two Labour MEPS.
Literally 20 minutes before this happened I was in this shop purchasing some potting soil for my wife. I have a genuine alibi for the time of the fire as we were walking round Loch Kinord very shortly after this.
We went past at about 6pm and it was a real mess with the roof down in both the main shop and the big extension at the back.
The Daily Mail speculates that the Damian Green affair might be Gordon Brown's Watergate. It might well be if it carries on and gains legs as it has this weekend. Despite all "Spliffer" Smith's attempts to portray Green as the Devil incarnate, all we see is the desperate misinformation of a dying goverment and the stench of corruption.
Just in case you don't think this is going to be a problem, just realise that the Big Feartie, our own Macavity the Cat has yet again disappeared from view, preferring to put out his minions to try and save his hide. This is the man who has now written two books about "Courage", this is the man that is supposed to be our "Moses", this is the man who is the great Leader of the World's Economic Recovery, so where is he when he is needed?
Yet again this man is cowering in his Bunker hoping this will just blow over and that he can avoid all or any of the blame for the actions of his government. Even his beloved Sun is turning on him calling this Country a Police State , here and now.
And yet again we hear that the real story may yet be still to be released. The murky goings on of this Government and it's Political minions is starting to unravel. The jobs for the boys and the cash for honours are coming home to roost not a moment to soon. Let us hope that they don't reach into the Police or we are all in trouble.
Conspiring to tell the Truth - that's what Damian Green is currently being charged with by the Police. His crime is to have gone against a Government that brokes no opposition to its Stalinesque methods.
As Fraser Nelson says today in articles in the Spectator and the News of the World, he has committed no crimes, just done his job as a responsible and respectable MP. If he has then by his own admittance then Gordon Brown is guilty of the same crime and not just on one occasion. As Gordon says it's not a mole it's just someone who is concerned about the public interest.
Fraser finishes off his article in the Spectator with the following words.
So it’s no excuse for Brown to say that the system went crazy during Green’s arrest. It should make him wonder what kind of monster has been created. It’s no use for Michael Martin to let it be known he’s hopping mad. He can still act. To signal the seriousness of what happened last week, he can resign – not out of guilt, but out of protest. Green’s arrest is a wake-up call for all of us, but no one more so than politicians. The last ten years have been about giving the system more power and money. It’s gone way, way too far. Now’s the time to fight back.
The problem is how does the ordinary punter do this today. We are now in the grip of a government that steadily and surely over the past 11 years has managed to begin to control our thoughts, words and deeds. We spend our lives wondering if what we say or write has been misinterpreted or could be deemed as somehow racist, stereotypical, anti-feminist, anti-government or a whole class of other possible indiscretions. We are scared even to put out the "wrong" sort of rubbish or to dare to drive a car by ourselves or even holiday abroad.
It's gone so far that now is the time to fight back to stop the erosion of our liberties, to stop those who would wish us all to lie down and just do as they say rather than stand up and fight and question what is happening to this country of ours.
When David Davies resigned earlier this year he gave a speech outlining the reasons he was making his stand. I thought at the time it was strange decision as I felt he could make his views heard much better from his then position but supported what he was highlighting. Now I know that, perhaps, he had realised just how far this government has gone to turn us into a Stalinesque Society.
David Davis said this in his speech
But in truth perhaps 42 days is the one most salient example of the insidious, surreptitious and relentless erosion of fundamental British freedom.
And we will have shortly the most intrusive identity card system in the world. A CCTV camera for every 14 citizens, a DNA database bigger than any dictatorship has, with thousands of innocent children and millions of innocent citizens on it.
We have witnessed an assault on jury trials, a bolt against bad law and its arbitrary use by the state.
And shortcuts with our justice system, which will make our system neither firm nor fair and a creation of a database state opening up our private lives to the prying eyes of official snoopers and exposing our personal data to careless civil servants and criminal hackers.
The state has security powers to clamp down on peaceful protest and so-called hate laws to stifle legitimate debate, whilst those who incite violence get off scot-free.
This cannot go on, it must be stopped, and for that reason today I feel it is incumbent on me to take a stand.
To those above must now be added the the terrible crimes of "Conspiring to Tell the Truth" and "Just Doing your Job".
The story, as it is revealed, of the arrest of Damian Green, may just be the final catalyst to the general public, just as the PBR was earlier this week on the economy, to understanding just what has happened under the insidious direction of the Labour Government. It may just be the time when they say no more and demand we get rid of the pestilence that now threatens to devour the freedoms we so rightly prize in this country. I can only hope that we do not have to suffer for much longer.
Who would have thought Tony Benn would have this to say when a Labour Government was in Power
"It is a total breach of what accords the privileges of parliament and therefore, the electors. His computers have been searched, his e-mail has been frozen."
He said that it was tantamount to a Contempt of Parliament. "Once police can interfere in parliament, then we're into a police state."
"For five years I have avoided using the phrase 'police state'. But the sort of things going on here is what you expect in a police state, a banana state. This is the most extraordinary event of my parliamentary career."
Nick Clegg gets in on the act as well.
Mr. Clegg called the arrest of Damian Green "a mayday warning for British democracy."
"We have one of the most unaccountable, secretive forms of government anywhere in the modern world.
"Now we have an opposition frontbench spokesman raided by anti-terror police. It's the kind of thing you'd expect in a tinpot dictatorship."
He said that he had consulted with Lord Carlisle who told him that he had "no idea why anti-terror powers could have been used in the first place."
"We need a parliament that can hold the government into account. Our parliament is neutered."
So that's just about all the main parties covered.
Now we await the "Spliffer" or Snot Gobbleer to tell us why this all in the greater good. Oh they have here is the story according to the Daily Mash.
THE Prime Minister last night began the elimination of his enemies as he pledged to cleanse Britain of the virus of dissent.
Crowds cheered and threw rotten fruit at Conservative MP Damian Green as he was dragged from his bed in the early hours by the Prime Minister's anti-treason officers.
The traitor Green was questioned for nine hours before confessing. His whereabouts are now unknown though Downing Street said he was in a place where he could do no more harm.
More arrests are expected today as Mr Brown makes an example of all those who would seek to destroy our faith in his wisdom and kindness.
According to Downing Street the Prime Minister questioned Green personally and was able to secure the names of more than 20 co-conspirators after the application of electrodes and a small wet sponge.
A spokesman said: "Listen well, treacherous scum. We know where you live. Do not try to hide from us. You will simply prolong your inevitable journey into the realms of pain."
He added: "All of those who have at any time questioned the Prime Minister's actions and judgement must surrender immediately.
"We can then begin the joyful process of re-ordering your thoughts and returning you to full productivity."
The people have welcomed the purge with many leaving bouquets and gifts outside Downing Street. Meanwhile primary school children in Reading have made a collage depicting the Prime Minister cuddling a baby horse
I don't often read Conservative Home , it's a bit right wing for a Tory like me, but this article is just exactly what I am thinking about the Damian Green affair.
According to Sky, the word from Downing Street is this:
"This is a matter for the police...The Prime Minister had no prior knowledge of the arrest of Mr Green and was only informed after the event."
Two classic Brownisms here. First, the washing of one's hands of any involvement in a controversy if it seems that negative publicity might result, by saying it is in the hands of an outside quango/ agency/ the courts/ investigation/ report/ independent adjudicator/ study, etc (delete as appropriate). In this case, it is the police.
The second is this - there is a denial of involvement, but the denial relates only to a specific part of the chain of events, in this case, the actual arrest of Damian Green. There is no denial that the PM knew of the investigation or knew that a senior Conservative was allegedly involved. Important questions like whether the PM or other senior ministers gave a go ahead for action are not covered in the statement.
For the sake of our democracy, I would love to be proven wrong, and be shown that the PM genuinely knew nothing about the police action against Damian Green.
Let me give you just one recent example of how Brown's careful use of language can give rise to a misleading impression. At PMQs, the day after Barack Obama was elected, most MPs were given the impression that the PM had telephoned Obama and congratulated him. I spoke with a top newspaper political correspondent who was certain this was the case. This is what Brown actually said:
"Before I list my engagements, I am sure that the whole House will wish to join me in sending our sincere congratulations to Senator Barack Obama on winning the presidency of the United States and writing a new chapter in history in doing so. The bonds that unite the United States and the UK are vital to our prosperity and security and I know from talking to Senator Obama that he will be a true friend of Britain. The Government look forward to working with the new Administration as we both help people fairly through the downturn. I also want to pay tribute to Senator McCain, who has shown the characteristic dignity that has marked a lifetime of service to his country."
At the time, it sounded to most people that the "talking" he referred to was very recent - indeed, that is what is implied by using the present continuous tense, rather than saying "when I talked with Obama". In reality, Brown didn't speak with Obama for some time after, and was upstaged by Nicolas Sarkozy, much to our PM's chagrin.
The point is merely this - it is too early to tell what Brown knew or didn't, but experience shows one needs to study his words very carefully indeed before reaching any conclusions.
Part of me hopes there is more to Green’s arrest than this. I don’t want to think I live in a country where anyone, far less opposition politicians, can get banged up for scrutinising the government in this way. And what will the public think tomorrow morning: “naughty Mr Green” or “what kind of police state is this?” No wonder No10 is stressing that Gordon Brown had “no prior knowledge” of what looks like calamitously heavy-handed policing. This could end up being a disaster for him.
The killing of at least 125 people in India and the wounding of over 300 more, must rank as one of the worst organised terrorist acts since 9/11 outside of Iraq.
This type of horror is just difficult to understand from the rural depths of Aberdeenshire.
And alongside this is the news of the death of 2 more Royal Marines in Afghanistan.
It brings to mind the comparison of the minor problems we are having with the current Financial Crisis and if we can afford to splurge out at Christmas.
My thoughts are with with all the victims of these atrocities and their families.
Apparently the Tory MP Damian Green has been arrested for doing his job by revealing details that might be embarrassing to the current Zanu-Labour government.
Our Glorious Leader apparently knows nothing about it and his hench-woman "Spliffer" Smith also denied any prior knowledge. However Boris Johnson has admitted knowledge of the event and had apparently advised police against this action.
According to the Daily Mail
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green was accused of an obscure offence of conspiring with 'misconduct in public office' after a Whitehall official was also held.
Counter-terrorism police are understood to have descended on his home in Kent without warning and arrested him over claims that he leaked confidential Government documents.
Many questions remain over this and it will be interesting to see how it plays in the media over the next couple of days.
Interesting to note that senior Conservatives (code for DC) described the move as "Stalinesque" an oblique reference surely to the fact that this has all the signs of the snot-gobbler at work. Surely not he is too busy working out how to cover-up his screwing up of the PBR on Monday.
Apparently the details revealed were as follows:
The information Mr Green is accused of leaking includes a Home Office memo revealing that an illegal immigrant had been working in the House of Commons as a cleaner.
Another leaked document suggested a cover-up by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith of a massive Government blunder.
It suggested the Home Secretary was warned that thousands of illegal immigrants had been cleared to work in sensitive Whitehall security jobs but accepted advice from her officials for a news blackout on the affair.
Another story showed Labour whips had drawn up a secret list of MPs likely to oppose plans to introduce 42-day detention without charge, and a leaked letter from Miss Smith to the Prime Minister revealed she had warned the recession would lead to a surge in crime.
All of these appear to be more than in the Public Interest.
According to the Press and Journal the Lib Dems are Revolting in Aberdeenshire
AN OUTSPOKEN councillor who resigned from Aberdeenshire’s Liberal Democrat group claims others may soon follow her lead.
Debra Storr said as many as six could quit the council’s ruling group.
If that were to happen the party would lose its majority of three, with the SNP becoming the largest party.
This is all resulting from the fallout from the Donald Trump affair and the associated votes.
The SNP had this to say
The council’s SNP group leader, Joanna Strathdee, said she was worried the Lib Dem group might lose its focus.
She said: “I hope that the leadership do not get too preoccupied with their own internal Liberal politics and continue to focus on delivering quality services to the council taxpayers of Aberdeenshire.”
Whilst Independent councillor John Cox said
it was disappointing to see the Lib Dems in apparent disarray, but he was in no doubt where the fault lay.
He said: “We have two or three councillors who have shown no respect for their colleagues, who have shown no respect for the north-east community, and seem to be throwing the toys out the pram at the moment.”
If you haven't seen this then I recommend you watch it. It's available on BBC IPlayer and is being re-shown at other times on the various BBC channels.
Three hundred British troops have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in seven years - a death toll film-maker Morgan Matthews set out to honour in a three-hour programme. What drove him to make such a harrowing documentary?
For a year Morgan Matthews has been on a mission to reconnect the British public with the human cost among British forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was 12 months ago that he started work on an ambitious TV programme to chronicle all those who have died for Queen and country in these ongoing wars.
Matthews recalls well how the project crystallised in his head. He had been "flicking through a newspaper" and noticed "on about the fourth or fifth page... a report of the latest British service personnel to be killed, with a small thumbnail picture and a couple of paragraphs".
If you do watch it then be prepared, it is at times not easy viewing, and at times just plain distressing, but in my humble opinion, it is worth making every politician watch this before they blandly say we have done our best. It is also just plain humbling to watch the bravery of those left behind. After you have watched this programme then maybe, like the film maker, you will be able to say
"When I hear news, as I did this morning, of two people who have died, I think of them as people. And I think about the families behind them."
Yesterday via his sidekick Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown delivered the final Budget for Nu-Labour. In true form Gordon is lumbering under the impression he is an economic genius when, in fact, he is the man that has dug us into the biggest hole Britain has ever been in, wants to more than double the depth of the hole and left us with little hope of being rescued.
Gone yesterday were all the hopes of Tony and his cronies and back came the 70's style socialist budget that will once again destroy this country of ours. All the work that the Tories did in the eighties and early nineties has been and will be destroyed on the back of Labour's profligacy and ineptitude.
Our debt for the country will double in less than three years to one Trillion pounds on the most favourable of forecasts. This is the biggest gamble in the history of the nation taken by a man who supposedly based his thinking on Prudence.
"a huge unexploded tax bombshell timed to go off under a future economic recovery".
Osborne then went on to describe the position of our country as follows
"He's giving £20bn in giveaways and taking back £40bn in higher taxes, including the major rise in National Insurance, a tax on the jobs and incomes of middle Britain," he said.
"It is confirmation of the time old truth that all Labour chancellors run out of money and all Labour governments bring this country to the verge of bankruptcy.
"Stability has gone out of the window, prudence is dead, Labour has done it again."
"That means the chancellor is borrowing more on the nation's credit card than all previous governments put together."
Not only is he taking on all this debt in the forlorn hope it can pull him out of the biggest hole this country has ever been in, but he is doing it without the proper due process of Government.
Has he forgotten that he is not a one-man band, Yesterday was not a Pre-Budget Report but a full blown Budget. Potentially it was the budget that will lumber this country with it's biggest ever deficit and Gordon wants to pass it off as a minor issue barely worth 90 minutes of discussion in Parliament. This is truly a disgrace and must be remedied.
Nobody is saying that no action is required but whatever action that is taken should be subject to proper and full scrutiny by both House's, Some of the changes may even be illegal unless presented to Parliament as Iain Dale asks here.
John Redwood will also be asking the questions about where the discussion and debate are and records his thoughts here.
In summary this nation is currently in a very deep hole, covered in the proverbial, Gordon is trying to make the hole even deeper, deeper than has ever been seen, and covering us in a truly unbelievable amount of the proverbial, and he has no ropes long enough to extract us from the hole and no ideas on how we will survive in the murky depths of the hole and no idea of the true depths the hole will eventually plumb.
It looks like we will again be calling in International Rescue, in the form of the IMF, to extract us from the hole at a later date and to burden yet another generation with the results of Socialism.
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