to think the Shadow Chancellor should know the current rate of National Insurance?

[longfingernails]

Alan Johnson really is completely unsuited to Shadow Chancellor, isn't he - he wants to put the NI rate up, despite not knowing what it actually is. What a joke.

skip to 4 mins in

Tbf he doesn't need to know it. If he was the actually Chancellor he would have to know it, but he does not.

Err right. OK then.

YANBU I think the decision to have Jonson as shadow Chancellor was a strange one. The Labour Party have people who are far more knowledgable about economics and the economy than Johnson such as Balls or Cooper who would surely do a better job.

Labour politician know nowt about the economy shocker.

This isn't about political philosophy.

This is an issue of basic competence.

If a year ago, George Osborne had said he wanted to put VAT up, without knowing what the current rate was, the storm of outrage whipped up by the BBC/Guardian nexus would have probably led to his resignation.

Thinking again about it, it is amazing that the figure he made up in panic was 20%. That implies a (roughly) 70% effective income tax rate on top earners - and he wants that to increase yet further!