Fantastic, whilst not a fan of New Labour, I really fear Dave’s Cons for the reason’s stated – they just don’t have a clue.

Couple this with the fact that the party itself is still very right wing and some of it’s main backers have what I consider to be sinister agendas and you’ve got a vote made in hell.

Anyone (so I refer to many) considering voting for these clowns has got to be so full of self-destructive tendencies that they need professional help, a lot of professional help.

That in this article the author is attacking “livery companies” instantly shows the how ignorant you are, many livery companies do a huge amount of work in providing education to kids from inner city estates from some of London’s most deprived areas, thus if you go to many leading schools in the country you will find children who are presented by livery companies and given funds and support. Maybe you should actually do some research about them eh? instead of being an tool that characterises activists and so called progressives who have about as much sense and intelligence as lemmings running as fast as they can to jump off a cliff.

Nevermind the Tory policies – good or bad they aren’t in power yet – you had the Prime Minister on TV yesterday morning saying that we dont need to cut spending but the recent hike in top-rate income tax above £150k incomes will see us through.

This was the most shameless display of naked political irresponsibility I have seen in the UK in my lifetime. We are currently spending over £20bn more each MONTH than we raise in taxes. Most economists, including the BOE think that tax revenues are not likely to recover for years as there has been a permanent and structural reduction in UK GDP. Even the HMRC themselves only project the new 50% tax rate to raise £5bn per YEAR (less than £0.5bn per month vs the £20bn PSBR).

Mandelson, many of the other cabinet, the liberals and tories all know that we will sink under a crippling debt burden unless we slash national spending by at least 10% across the board (far more in certain areas if you ring-fence schools and the NHS). Almost certainly tax rises will also be needed – but these will raise peanuts unless they are borne by the average tax payer through increases in basic rate tax.

Brown and Balls are playing Russian roulette with the Gilts markets in the pre-election period hoping they can shore up a core vote in the North by ignoring spending cuts before the foreign investors we are now completely dependent upon abandon us. Right or wrong, the markets confidence (i.e. the confidence of the same foreign investors who bankroll our notion) in the Pound and Gilts is now based 100% on the Tories coming in – you will be shocked at their reaction (and the consequences for us) if that starts to look unlikely.

There is a debate to be had about when to start the spending cuts. Brown is not only not discussing the timing of cuts he is now openly casting doubt that they are needed at all in any great measure. That is treacherous in these circumstances.

Good stuff: although we should do a post similarly taking apart Labour policies.

Ugly policies, but how do they differ from the current ones of New lab?
eg
Education
Corporate sponsors (who haven’t even been stumping up the money) and faith groups getting control of academies.
eg
EMPLOYMENT
Purnell’s vile legacy of workfare.
Only today,Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: “The government’s draconian approach of forcing people off incapacity benefit when they clearly can’t work is having tragic consequences and robbing people of help when they are in most need. The government needs to urgently review the employment and support allowance capability test.”
COUNCIL TENANTS
That Tory ‘policy is a direct lift from Hazel Blears.
CRIME
3,000 new criminal offences with New Lab.Crime maps are here already, and Straw for one wants them more detailed. Benefits withdrawal again was floated by New lab (along with high-visibility tabards of shame, remember…)

The New Lab project and the New Con one are damn near indistinguishable, no matter how much spin is applied.It’s a false dichotomy between two neo-liberal parties of patronising, privileged careerist shits.

This is a really half-arsed take down. The education policies being suggested work pretty well in the Netherlands and in the US where they are tried, so I reckon you are going to have come up with something better than that.

But you are right, they certainly need tougher policing before they can make any real impact. Repeat offenders (especially violent ones) should be in prison, not doing community service.

Nevermind the Tory policies

Weren’t you complaining last week we don’t do enough policy stuff, and always attacking you poor rich bankers?

Oh dear. Reading this post is like watching the Left having a car crash in slo-mo.

I do hope Ed Balls comes up with something less crass or we’re definitely facing a Tory 3 figure majority.

@3: “Mandelson, many of the other cabinet, the liberals and tories all know that we will sink under a crippling debt burden unless we slash national spending by at least 10% across the board.”

In case anyone interprets that to mean there is a broad consensus among professional economists for immediate, swingeing public spending cuts to reduce the budget deficit, that is not so.

Try reading the reports in Monday’s FT of the poll conducted among 79 City economists:

“Professional economists are split down the middle on the question that promises to dominate the impending general election – exactly when the government should move to tackle Britain’s soaring budget deficit either by cutting public spending or raising taxes.

“The sharp division points to the high degree of uncertainty in the economic outlook and suggests politicians will have wide latitude to pick and choose the facts that support their policy options.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/021fb2c8-f8d0-11de-beb8-00144feab49a.html

Confession time; this wasn’t really supposed to ever be published; it’s just supposed to make the point that there is, actually, policy out there to be criticised, rather than just platitudes and intentions. It was a series of notes of mine that I was planning on rejigging, but events overtook me over New Year and I didn’t get as much time as I hoped (read any). I’d actually thought that it wasn’t going to cut the mustard, but hoped that it would act as a spar to a much more erudite (and time rich) writer. Still, I’ve made my bed, and I’ll lie in it.

The New Lab project and the New Con one are damn near indistinguishable, no matter how much spin is applied.It’s a false dichotomy between two neo-liberal parties of patronising, privileged careerist shits.

No arguments from me; I’m happy to throw peanuts at either of the acts on display. In fact, one of the comments I did make in the original draft was that a lot of the so-called policy announcements are, in fact, restatements of things that are already happening and have been for years, such as minimum tariffs.

The education policies being suggested work pretty well in the Netherlands and in the US where they are tried, so I reckon you are going to have come up with something better than that.

‘Tried’, but not tested. In the US, the voucher system provides tax rebates to schools based on locally levelled property taxes. Now, if you want to slide that Lib Dem policy in there, and have people in their own council areas deciding whether they pony up for them or not, then you might have the beginning of a point.

But the main problem for me is that there’s no way of stopping people getting a tax rebate for, basically, what they were going to do anyway, taking the already stretched resource of tax take and giving it to people who, frankly, don’t need it, without adding anything to the pot, or to be frank contributing any extra great skill to society as a whole. It’s just a tax sop to those who already attend fee paying schools, allowing those with deep pockets to dictate the education choices of a local area. Let’s take worst case scenario: Yemeni businessmen open up schools in Basildon; open to all religions, millions of pounds put into IT, into sports, into schoolbooks; they undercut both state providers and other private providers. They expand to meet the demand, and because they’re the best school (as determined by league tables) everyone clamours to get in. Soon the school has 20,000 children; other schools can’t compete and have to close down or merge, and then THE MUSLIMS STRIKE WITH THEIR BRAINWASHED MANCHURIANS, KILLING US ALL! Or something.

That in this article the author is attacking “livery companies” instantly shows the how ignorant you are, many livery companies do a huge amount of work in providing education to kids from inner city estates from some of London’s most deprived areas, thus if you go to many leading schools in the country you will find children who are presented by livery companies and given funds and support. Maybe you should actually do some research about them eh?

Let’s take the last ten “Worshipful Companies” formed, shall we?
Constructors
Information Technologists
World Traders
Water Conservators
Firefighters
Hackney Carriage Drivers
Management Consultants
International Bankers
Tax Advisers
Security Professionals

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I was after a well-rounded education in the 3rs I’d be a little wary of putting that in the trust of “Hackney Carriage Drivers”. By all means, let them pony up the cash as a charitable donation, but to have them determining the curriculum and teaching structures? Not this far South of the River, luv.

I fear there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth in Conservative HQ tonight:

“An unexpectedly good survey of the country’s manufacturing sector and a firm number for a key measure of the money supply raised hopes today that the New Year had started with Britain finally pulling out of recession.

“Most economists, as well as the government and Bank of England, expect that the economy started to grow again in the fourth quarter last year in response to ultra-low interest rates, a weaker pound and a looser fiscal policy. But there has been concern that other countries in Europe — as well as the United States — returned to growth in third quarter of last year while Britain continued to contract.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/04/manufacturing-green-shoots-cips

OTOH 10 Downing St and the Treasury should be feeling quite cheered up by the reports of a poll among City economists in Monday’s FT:

“Professional economists are split down the middle on the question that promises to dominate the impending general election – exactly when the government should move to tackle Britain’s soaring budget deficit either by cutting public spending or raising taxes.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/021fb2c8-f8d0-11de-beb8-00144feab49a.html

News report from a year ago: 2 January 2009:

“‘The government’s attempts to boost the economy by temporarily cutting VAT have been an ‘unbelievable and expensive failure’, David Cameron has said.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7808634.stm

A Reuters news report from 20 December 2009:

“LONDON (Reuters) – John Lewis JLP.UL, the British employee-owned retailer, posted its best ever trading last week, with sales up 15.5 percent year-on-year, helped by record sales of gift food, electronic games and board games.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BJ0S820091220

Who is clueless about fiscal policy?