Miliband fails to learn Labour spending lesson

[Niceguy2]

Telegraph article

BBC Article

I linked the BBC article as apparently "David Cameron has himself acknowledged the difference between Labour and the coalition over the scale of cuts is only £2bn this year."

So in other words for all their talk on how nasty the Tories are, in fact if Labour were in power, the only difference would be £2billion of spending. That's peanuts really in the context of a £160billion annual deficit.

wondering why no one has commented on this...

Because few on MN like to admit Cameron and Osborne might actually be on the right track. It's not a popular view :) I'm pretty certain that Darling's pre-election remark that there would be 'worse cuts than the Thatcher era' was the most honest thing anyone in the Labour party said that month. And that's why they locked him in a cupboard with a gag on shortly afterwards.

In hard times, its predictable that the opposition will make hypocritical swipes at the government for doing pretty much the same as they'd have to do anyway if they were in power, whichever way round it goes. That's party politics for you and its sooo boring and unconstructive.

It would help inform the debate if the Opposition would actually lay out its alternative agenda and tell us what they would cut.

mILIBAND.
gOD, I WOULDN'T trust him to do the dishes properly, let alone owt else.

Because few on MN like to admit Cameron and Osborne might actually be on the right track.

Yeah right, mass unemployment, rising homelessness, rising child poverty, the damage to social services and you think that sending society back to the 1920's is the right track

Good post OP. Many of us have suspected this for years.

The Labourites are a bunch of entertainers and thespians of little talent. They are a travelling circus who put shows on in constituencies up and down the kingdom. They are like that famous group, 'The Travelling Raspberries', regaling audiences with their forte of blowing raspberries. They follow in the footsteps of their idol and inspiration, the circus entrepreneur, P.T. Barnum.

P.T. Barnum is credited with the quote "there's a sucker born every minute", and the Labourites agree and view the good people who vote for them in this manner. Mrs. Duffy, the lifelong Labour supporter, whose union representative father used to proudly sing the 'Red Flag', found that out that haesh truth, the day that she went to buy a loaf of bread.

Like thespians they have been trained to talk their way out of a paper bag. They have studied another quote attributed to P.T. Barnum, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time". They lament that it is not possible to fool all of the people all of the time, but they do their best to fool as many as they can for as long as they can. The election found them out, but they're back, hamming it up as ever, putting on spectacles and reading from autocues. They have all the circus attractions; jugglers, clowns, trapeze artists in charge of the economy and the elephant in the room in overall charge of economic policy, the star attraction. You've seen him before, you know the score, it's the same all mumbo jumbo, delivered at the despatch box by Dumbo.

SWC, not terribly stupid just very selfish.

Unless/until the Opposition put forward a costed alternative plan, it is difficult to see what impact their measures would have. Pretty clear it would have to be massive cuts, whoever's in Government. No good just lamenting what's going on if you can't show a different way.

Anyone know if/when the Opposition will be ready to indicate their actual alternatives?

SWC, hit a nerve did I, well truth does hurt, as for impertinent do behave I am not your housemaid.

With regard to "fuck off" may I suggest you save that language for when you talk to other members of your family as I suspect that is that is the manner in which they communicate.

Anyone who votes Tory is selfish

'Anyone know if/when the Opposition will be ready to indicate their actual alternatives?'

They've got no alternatives. If they did have, they wouldn't have left a note saying "there's no money left".

They won't indicate any alternatives, because that would expose them as empty-handed. The public already know that they are cack-handed and sometimes underhanded. They want to hide the fact that they are also empty-handed

"Tories are selfish"

If you vote Tory you are voting for a party that:

Always targets blame and cuts at those who can least afford them.

Always causes a rise in child poverty.

Always scapegoats the vulnerable (single mothers, immigrants etc).

Always helps their wealthy "friends" at the expense of the rest of society (bankers anyone)

I call this the "Tory poison pill", you may like the Tories policies on maybe transport or housing and vote for the Tories accordingly but what you like also comes with the Tory poison pill

You may think the poison pill is a price worth paying to have a Tory government, you may not give a shit about the poor and vulnerable (a common Tory trait) who knows.

The point is voting Tory is a selfish action because they ALWAYS hurt the poor and vulnerable.

TheSecond - according to the current labour party line - it's the 'squeezed middle' being targeted. The 'poor' being targetted was last month's message from Labour central, as I recall - keep up.

Newwave, you have me weepin' into me hanky so yer do.
Lawksaday, wot and wiv all those poor kiddies to feed.

Indeed.
Did someone round them all up and push them onto MN?

It heartens me that the pox has not infected everyone however.

Good night.

moondog, as I said disregard for the poor is a common Tory trait.

SWC, "Tedious" maybe but correct in my position regarding voting Tory being a selfish act nonetheless and which I note you appear unable to refute.

As for being a "lefty" it's something to be proud of unlike being a Tory which is something to be abhorred by decent people.

Hang on a minute newwave... I don't recall the Labour government doing very much about child poverty. The man they asked to 'think the unthinkable'... Frank Field was sent to Coventry when he came up with any ideas. And 'single mothers' aren't necessarily 'vulnerable' ... please don't fall into the same trap of patronising stereoptypes as the Daily Mail. As regards immigrants, Labour was quite happy to let them take up most of the 2m jobs created in the boom at low wages rather than put any pressure on the existing local unemployed millions to get back into work.... I call that 'not giving a shit' about the poor, to be honest.

And when we get to 'wealthy friends'... I'm pretty sure all the bank handouts and cosy golden goodbye arrangements were cooked up in 2008-2009 when - remind me who was in charge again?... oh yes, Labour!

Conservatives have traditionally have to clean up the mess left behind by Labour's financial mismanagement and get accused of being heartless or selfish in the process. This time is no exception.