Can’t have Lord Snooty telling the public what a great job Labour did, and that they have never had it so good. Does not fit with tory/Lie dem spin that we are a basket case like Greece and we need austerity measures.

Tories can’t decide if we have never had it so good or are up swanny without paddle.

sally,

I think Lord Young said that for many (which shall we take for the sake of reasonableness not to be those who have lost their job etc) the low interest rates have made life easier.

Now, since the interest rates were not set by Labour (due to them giving the job to a quango), I doubt this can be spun as a Labour success. Considering the Labour government did oversee a recession and all that…

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/heartless%2c-insensitive-old-tory-absolutely-spot-on-201011193271

of minor interest:

This study investigates the relationship between economic conditions and health. Total mortality and eight of the ten sources of fatalities examined are shown to exhibit a procyclical fluctuation [i.e. fall in recessions], with suicides representing an important exception…. An accompanying analysis of microdata indicates that smoking and obesity increase when the economy strengthens, whereas physical activity is reduced and diet becomes less healthy.

this doesn’t mean it’s very wise to be talking about small health benefits as if they somehow compensate for millions losing jobs etc.

I seem to remember that my grandfather gave up smoking when he was in a Japanese POW camp. There’s always a silver lining, eh?

Bloody insensitive Tories. Here’s another cracker of the genre:

Even if unemployment reaches 3 million, that still leaves 90% in secure jobs. Most people will suffer not at all in this recession: on the contrary they will do well as prices fall and the real value of their earnings rises.

Who do these Tories think they are?

6

They think as they have always thunk; they are the masters, and the rest of them… well, they can just jolly well get on their bikes, and those that can’t, well…they must be the undeserving poor.

In the new Big Society (TM) it will be off to the workhouses with all of them.

Now carry on.

Isn’t the logical conclusion of all this that recessions are necessary and should be more frequent? Or perhaps that economic growth (i.e. a boom) isn’t all its cracked up to be?

They think as they have always thunk; they are the masters, and the rest of them… well, they can just jolly well get on their bikes, and those that can’t, well…they must be the undeserving poor.

It was a line from a Polly Toynbee article…

That Daily Mash article is spot on. It’s incredibly easy to do well in this country. But of course if you think a useless job in local government is your birthright and you aren’t prepared to get off a chair to look for anything else, then it’s awful here. And you can get stuffed. The rest of us are sick of paying for you.

So much for the benefit to small businesses from the cut in interest rates:

“Chancellor George Osborne has warned that banks need to start increasing their lending to businesses, stressing its importance to the UK’s economic recovery.” [5 August 2010]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10841243

If home purchase mortgage payers have benefited from lower interest rates, my pensioner friends who relied on the interest paid on their bank deposits certainly haven’t.

The one stark, obvious conclusion in this is that Lord Young really hasn’t a clue. The big mystery is how he ever got appointed to the adviser’s job he had.

Tim J if u are going to plagerise for your own benefit at least use quotation marks?

Once again the right jump to defend the indefensible. The point of the piece was to illustrate how out of touch, as highlighted by his own admission, the Tory lord is and given that he was appointed by Dave surely this reflects on his judgement and how out touch he Is also?

The Daily Mash was spot on ;

“But the Tory peer was later forced to apologise for his sadistic, upper-class rightness, adding: “I’m very old. Look at my bow tie. I’m not right in the head”.

Just about sums it up really!!

10
IMO the state should subsidize the purchase of bikes for the unemployed.

“IMO the state should subsidize the purchase of bikes for the unemployed.”

I feel sure that the government of China would greatly welcome such an initiative.

It is a rather important technical point but we are not in recession and have not been for approx 12 months. Some people on this thread speak as if we are, and we are not. Sally in her own rather colourful manner makes a good point. Armageddon is either just around the corner that only er, Mr Osborne and Mr Alexander can save us from or their political rhetoric was exaggerated. The comments of Lord Young were maybe ill-advised but it is simply a fact that the misery index is nowhere near the levels seen at similar stages in past economic cycles. Sure, some people are suffering. However, some people also suffer in economic booms. I don’t know why Labour are getting their collective knickers in a twist. They can legitimately claim that some of their measures stopped the misery index from rising.

If home purchase mortgage payers have benefited from lower interest rates

As someone who actually has a mortgage, I’m not at all convinced that we have. My mortgage has simply gone from being 0.5% over base rate to 3.5% over base rate – I’m still paying near enough the same damn rate as I was before the recession. My pension’s fucked, the company I work for has shrunk from 30 employees to 10, consumer inflation is rising but my pay isn’t… I’ve definitely had it better, thanks.

@16: ” I don’t know why Labour are getting their collective knickers in a twist. They can legitimately claim that some of their measures stopped the misery index from rising.”

In January 2009, Cameron denounced the cut in VAT announced in Alistair Darling’s Pre-Budget report speech of 22 November 2008 even though Kenneth Clarke supported it:

“Cameron’s ability to oppose Vat cuts will be hindered by the fact that Kenneth Clarke, the former Tory chancellor, said in an interview yesterday that such a move would ‘stimulate spending and consumer demand’. ”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/pbr/article5213582.ece

“‘The government’s attempts to boost the economy by temporarily cutting VAT have been an ‘unbelievable and expensive failure’, David Cameron has said.” [2 January 2009]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7808634.stm

“The government’s much-criticised cut in VAT is working and has led to a big boost in consumer spending, according to a leading economics consultancy.

“The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) says that the cut, which took effect on 1 December 2008, has led to £2.1bn of extra sales.” [12 April 2009]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7995850.stm

Evidently, Cameron is also rather clueless about economic policy – which could explain how Lord Young got appointed to his advisory post in Downing Street. No one with any understanding of economic policy would denounce as a complete failure a new measure only announced a little more than a month previously – the necessary data to say one way or the other just aren’t available in so short a period of time.

@6 “Who do these Tories think they are?”

What part of the statement is untrue? That fact is that 3 million unemployment does leave 90% of people in jobs (perhaps they’re not so secure, but they’re jobs).

The point is that 90% are ok, so if you’re an interventionist type person then you don’t need to be looking to help those. It’s the other 10% you need to look to help.

Thus, in a time of very limited resources, it doesn’t make sense moaning about those poor families struggling by on £45,000 when they lose their child benefit when there are plenty of other people who would kill to have a job paid that well.

How about we start worrying about those who need help, rather than those who don’t (like the 90-odd percent of people who didn’t lose their job in the recession)?

@19: “How about we start worrying about those who need help, rather than those who don’t (like the 90-odd percent of people who didn’t lose their job in the recession)?”

That’s besides the point here. Lord Young’s (unpaid) job in Downing St had been to advise on policy to promote enterprise by small and medium sized businesses. Fine – there’s nothing wrong with that.

The trouble is that he obviously missed noticing the serial complaints by small and medium-sized enterprises in the business press – note, the business press, not the nasty subversive leftie press – about their recurrent difficulties in raising bank loans, which is what George Osborne was referring to in that comment quoted @11.

In othe words, the problem many businesses face is getting any bank credit regardless of what has happened to interest rates although there are also complaints that the banks are often not passing on anything like the cuts made in Bank of England base rates in those cases where loan facilities are offered.

All that stuff about “Never had it so good” fails to take account of the very business problems Lord Young had been taken on to advise about. In addition to all that, it seems to have escaped his attention that the cuts in public sector spending and jobs have hardly started:

“Austerity measures pose ‘headwinds’ to British growth, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned, as it slashed its forecast for the UK in 2011.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8144452/OECD-slashes-UK-growth-forecast-for-2011.html

Btw lay off about Lord Young’s age. Observers of his career seriously doubt that age has ever affected his capabilities. Besides, I’m old too.

That fact is that 3 million unemployment does leave 90% of people in jobs

No it bloody doesn’t, and anybody suffering from such breathtaking ignorance of the matter should probably try to avoid advertising it. According to the ONS:

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to September 2010 was 70.8 per cent, up 0.3 on the quarter.

…

The unemployment rate for the three months to September 2010 was 7.7 per cent, down 0.1 on the quarter.

…

The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to September 2010 was 23.2 per cent, down 0.2 on the quarter.

As to the nature of the jobs for those still lucky enough to have them:

The number of full-time employees fell by 62,000 on the quarter to reach 18.17 million. The number of employees and self-employed people who were working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 67,000 on the quarter, to reach a record high of 1.15 million.

Never had it so good? Really?

Here’s the news from the Retail Gazette:

“UK’s second largest grocer Asda has today announced a 1.3 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the three months to September 30th.

“Profits have grown ahead of sales in the third quarter for the retailer despite the latest Asda Income Tracker revealing that the typical family’s disposable income was £4 lower in September 2010 than September 2009.”
http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/44400-asda-sales-rise-as-family-spend-falls

How about the Daily Mail?

“The ONS said household disposable income – what is left after tax for spending and saving – fell 1.6 per cent in April, May and June as families dealt with redundancy, pay cuts and wage freezes.

“The household savings ratio – the percentage of disposable income that is saved – dropped from 5.5 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

“It was a clear sign that many struggling Britons are saving less or using their savings to make ends meet.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315843/UK-economy-powering-ahead-families-disposable-income.html#ixzz15qRHWvI8

20
“Btw lay off Lord Young’s age. Observers of his career seriously doubt that age has affected his capabilities”

You mean he’s always been a dozy tory twat.

@23: “You mean he’s always been a dozy tory twat.”

You may say that but I couldn’t possibly comment.

Try this on the seamless transition that Lord Young made in 1990 from being DTI Minister in Mrs Thatcher’s government, where he had regulatory responsibilities for telecommunications, to becoming chairman of Cable & Wireless plc:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/five-years-of-crossed-lines-at-cable–wireless-1582359.html

More on the company history of Cable and Wireless:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_%26_Wireless_Worldwide

“Britain’s government gave up its special or so-called ‘golden’ share in Cable & Wireless Plc on Monday [11 February 2002], abandoning influence in the company secured at the time of privatisation 21 years ago. C&W shares are trading just above 10-year lows but the company said there was no significance in the timing of the purchase for the special share’s nominal value of one pound.”
http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=400979