Oh look Brown is going to save the economy "again"... What? Does anyone believe this shit?

[AtheneNoctua]

Save the economy my arse. Your irresponsible spend when you could have been saving got us here. You aren't going to save us... let alone "again".

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7401846.stm

He just looks more and more out of touch with reality.

Hey, it's worth writing him a letter! Much cheaper than the fee - I think it's about £700 plus the Life in the UK test.

Athene, a tax rant was my next topic. Is the non-dom £30k a year?

C'mon everyone, he's a politician in a flawed political system.

Of course he spent every single penny he had and widened the PSBR. Our political system means that each party only has at best four years to convince the voters to vote for them again. How do we expect them to use that time? Saving money for the opposition to use when they get into power or spending like a drunken sailor whilst the good times roll? I'm yet to see any politician take a meaningful decision with a view beyond the end of their term in office.

Of course he made ridiculous statements about how he'd managed to make the economy great. What do expect any Chancellor to say during booming economic times? "Oh this is great, but nothing to do with me. I guess I just got lucky huh."

Of course he continues to make ridiculous statements about how he can save the economy. What do we expect any PM to say? "Quite frankly, I arsed up as Chancellor and I'm terrified as the rest of you that we're going to hell in a hand-basket. Oops, there go the markets..."

Yes, he's an arse, but anyone else would have been the same.

Oh, I haven't forgotten the selling of our gold at the bottom of the market. And he's hit pension funds so badly that lots of people no longer have the pensions available that they thought they'd saved for.

I read somewhere that 'follow-on' PM's never do well, eg Churchill-Eden, Macmillan-Douglas home, Wilson-Callaghan, Thatcher-Major and thus far GB seems to be bearing that out.

Yes, winebeforepearls, that's the one.

Actually Cestlavie, I think Golden Brown has made some fundamental errors that other Chancellors would have avoided, 2 examples being selling the nation's gold and plundering the nation's pension pot. I think he made these errors because he is amazingly, supremely arrogant, so he ignores any advice that doesn't agree with what he wants to do.

But, cestlavie, he has bals it it up for when he is still in office. You are suppose to keep it positive while you still plan to be there. Couldn't even manage that.

Hmmmm, yes Athene. I suspect his gameplan to keep it positive didn't take into account the current credit crunch...

"no more boom and bust"

If he thought he had magically abolished the business cycle he is completely insane

If he didn't he should have factored it in. Double digit inflation in the cost of homes was never sustainable, he should have known that when people stop pricing in hyperinflation there is usually a correction.

Exactly. He didn't take the credit crunch into account. The crunch was seen by many a long time ago. Brown ignored advice to do something to prepare for it. But he didn't. And now it's going to be worse than it would have been had he not spent all of his our money. And that is Gorden Brown's fault.

I work for a large supplier to the public sector and have over 20 years experience of working with them.

I cannot tell you the waste, endless meetings etc that go on. They constantly want what they call 'value for money' ie the cheapest quote and rarely learn from this.

Like most parents I have seen the inside of hospitals. Most of them need a jolly good clean. What if someone had the 'nerve' to get rid of contract cleaning companies with a huge turnover of staff and give the responsibility for cleaning the wards back to the staff. I dont mean that the staff do the cleaning but that they hold the budget to employ someone. Billions are being pumped into the NHS and no real difference has been seen. My 75 year mother and her friends are 'frightened' to go into hospitals.

I dont think throwing money at the problem is doing any good at all. This public bodies just dont know how to spend it.

Maybe after 11yrs this govt has just run out of steam, they're jaded and have no new ideas. If they haven't done what they want after 11yrs, will they ever achieve it? I think that's probably true of all parties.

As a Labour MP is quoted as saying: "When a control freak loses control, all we are left with is a freak."

BTW I think Brown looks ill. I wonder if he will be forced out on health grounds.

I find it annoying that it was last year Brown announced he would scrap the 10p rate of tax.

Then WHY do other politicians moan about it now? Why was it allowed to pass through parliament?

So many politicans are out for the vote, and now they are jumping on the bandwagon about the economy, when they played a part

I find it annoying that it was last year Brown announced he would scrap the 10p rate of tax.

Then WHY do other politicians moan about it now? Why was it allowed to pass through parliament?

So many politicans are out for the vote, and now they are jumping on the bandwagon about the economy, when they played a part

Exactly, Amazin, why not make a fuss earlier - or were they too thick to work out hte implications?

Well obvioulsy Brown wants the whole economy to go tits up

How can anyone believe that shit?

Believe everything - trust nothing!

No the way to apreciate politics

He encouraged the house price boom and is still trying to prevent the much needed correction by trying to get first time buyers to take out shared equity on over priced houses. Alot of wealth in the last 10 years has been in house prices and equity withdrawel as well as cheap credit. This gov are also too nanny state for me, yuk!

if the only way i could ever be a non-renter is shared ownership, i'd rather stay a renter my whole life.

it's a con to make it look like there are more FTBers out there.

lol @ Gordon Brown being single-handedly responsible for global economic slowdown

he's not responsible. but his and his party's policies certainly aren't helping hte situation.

Of course he's not responsible for the slowdown, but he's responsible for being caught with his pants down when it happened.

I think GB is a decent sort. I don't think Brown is singularly repsonsible for the failings of the Labour government these past 3 terms. Is he responsible for the economic woes in America too? And the oil price?

I'm a Tory but it's not enjoyable watching the Labour party turn in on itself. Get a grip you faitful Labour supporters. I don't want a Tory govenment with a massice majority; it's not good for democracy.

and he was chancellor for years and years. it's not like he just materialised out of the woodwork.

I'm reading Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain and it is thoroughly depressing how self-serving each and every colour of government is.

But also surprising how many good people do go into politics to try to make things better.

And are ground down by events and wildly delusional theories.