Dire dole queues, the economy in the doldrums and New Labour down in the polls and down in the dumps. A fitting end to a fag-end government's 13 years of failure. But a miserable end to a disastrous decade of Borrowing Brown's busted economy with a country on its last legs. Voters have a choice - someone who'll fix it or fudge it.
Unemployment rises to 2.5m. Inflation rate rises to 3.4%. The economy "to stay in the doldrums". A bitter blow for a bleak Brown world in the final fortnight of the election race.
The Orange Party has never been one to fan the flames of false optimism or mince words. The country's in a mess. Voters in not-so-merry England face a choice between Twiddledumb, Tweedledave, Tweedledem - or a silly party.
A hyped Cleggmania horse has been flogged to death. Time to return to the real world with a bump. Economic misery. The shambles of a disastrous decade topped off with dire dole queues. No wonder the fag-enders are down in the polls and down in the dumps.
Out in the real world the public puts the economy top of the polls along with immigration. But 'economy' hides a multitude of sins. Voters are worried about rising prices, hanging on to a job or getting one in the first place.
The BBC, bless, has always done its best to beat an upbeat drum but comes unstuck when the 'recovery' vehicle turns into a breakdown truck.
Top stories - unemployment increase, inflation rate rises and the economy 'to stay in the doldrums' make a mockery of 'recovery'.
The Orange Party never bought into Borrowing Brown's weak excuse blaming it all on global this and that. The economy is decided by government policies or lack of them. Whether it is over banks, regulation or UK manufacturing.
Shifting the blame is a lamentable excuse from a lamentable leader, burying heads in the sand, spinning a way out of an economy mess of his own making.
Latest unemployment figures give a "mixed" picture of the "labour market" goes the spin. Er, unemployment is the number of poor souls out of work.
The number of people lucky to have a job has fallen. Long-term unemployment has risen. The claimant count may be down but unemployment has risen to a 16 year high. By 43,000 to 2.5 million during the three months to February, according to the ONS.
The official number of people 'claiming' unemployment benefit may well have fallen but that depends on who signs on and who signs off for whatever reason.
ONS figures showed youth unemployment rising, with nearly a million 16 to 24-year-olds out of work. Unemployment among the over-50s rose to 396,000.
One fifth of the population is "economically inactive" - out of work and not seeking work - rising to a record 8.16 million, equivalent to 21.5%. Students in the main, forced into useless education courses instead of real jobs.
The Orange Party has come over all blue. The worst thing to do would be to impose New Labour's NI jobs tax, today slammed by more business bosses. All this is a week when a leading forecaster warned the immediate prospects for the UK were "dismal". The economy will remain "stuck in the doldrums" this year with a tiny 2010 predicted growth of 1%.
The ugly side of printing funny money is beginning to show with the CPI inflation rate favoured by government rising sharply to 3.4%. And RPI inflation, which includes housing costs, also rising sharply to 4.4%.
The cock-eyed way of living in La-La land on borrowed money and borrowed time will be brought into sharp focus to round off the week.
Public finance figures tomorrow will show the extent of Borrowing Brown's binge. The bogeyman of crucial GDP growth figures out for Q1 on Friday is set to be spun as election 'good news' with rigged recovery.
The sham of spinning a deficit leaving a mountain of debt behind is a deceitful Darling debt dodge. Brown spin over debt and deficit, with rigged 'GDP' and fantasy growth is a deceitful way to run the economy.
Economic mumbo jumbo, fiddled figures and fudge. What is clear is that a whole raft of appalling figures on New Labour's watch blow out of the water any chance of a jobs recovery, with public sector cuts looming whoever holds the reigns of power.
The choice boils down to who voters trust to fix the economic mess or are happy to leave to fudge it.
Bottom graphic: Spectator
1 comment:
Gordan's quantitative easing (printing money to you and me) was intended to delay the worst effects of the recession until post-election. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't carry on with the policy quite long enough because the Bond Markets were about to go apesh!t.
There is always a lag between recession and job losses and all Labour has done is extend the delay. The job losses will come anyway - but at a huge cost in long-term productivity. They will either come in the private sector, in which case we might as well invite the IMF in now, or in the public sector when we will at least be allowed to sort the mess out ourselves.
Either way, we are in for a few very austere years, regardless of our Government. I would do anything to get rid of Labour for good .. ie forever. Everytime they get into Government they wreck the economy and end up hurting the people they claim to support.
We need a Government which puts the interests of the UK first - ie not the EU. One which will instill some pride back into the population and reward those people who do right by the country. That doesn't necessarily means those who earn the most, but those who contribute towards our society. The whole system of recognising a significant contribution towards our country needs to be revisited and the emphasis put on people who generate jobs; improvements in their communities charitable public service. Not Civil Servants, Party donors and representatives of the great and the good.
God only knows who will be able to do that .... but one things for certain, it isn't Labour and it won't be the LimpDims.
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