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As I and indeed, all forumites know the UK economy is safe in the hands of Diamond Dave and Boy George.

Mind you when they talk about the UK being a "safe haven" I don't feel particularly that it is a safe haven myself - unemployment at a 17 year high, 1 in 5 young kids on the dole, umpteen people chasing each job.

As forumites will know we have been through three phases with Diamond Dave and Boy George since they got elected.

Phase 1
What a cockup New Labour made of the economy. We are nearly bankrupt and are just like Greece. This phase lasted non-stop for 6 months and occassionaly raises its head now and again from a Tory politician's gob. The reaction is usually for people to start throwing tins of tomatoes (40 p from Poundland - great deal) at the nearest Tory politician and their hapless Lib Dem assistant.

Phase 2
What a brilliant job me and Boy George are doing. As a result of our cuts plan in the emergency budget in June/July 2010, Britain has now come out of the recession and things are looking much better. This phase lasted for about 3 weeks last autumn. Then the UK economy started tanking and since then has hardly grown at all, the private sector hasnt taken up the slack as the Tories insisted it would in terms of employing sacked public sector workers. What to do......Who blame now??????

Phase 3
Its all Jonny Foreigners fault. We were doing such a brilliant job, Diamond Dave and I and then Jonny Foreigner in the shape of the EU came along and fucked it all up for us. And they fucked it up because they havent been as prudent and careful and brilliant and safe havenish as us!!!!!! Clearly!!!!! This phase has been going on most of the year and the Jonny Foreigner argument is being used more and more and more

The only problem with the Phase 3 argument is

1. Exports to the EU from the UK haven't gone down at all in the last year up to September 2011. In fact UK exports to the EU were up 15% in August 2011 compared to August 2010. EU crisis not affecting us there then!

2. The average growth rate in Euro countries has been three times that in the UK in the past year ("Oh fuck" Diamond Dave exhales). So Jonny Foreigner is doing pretty well growth wise compared to the UK.

3. THe real slump affecting Britain is the huge drop in consumer demand and confidence in the UK. And who's policies have caused that? Err, Diamond Dave and Boy George, got a moment to discuss these cuts which are a tad too deep and too quick?

Diamond Dave and Boy George reply "Sorry we are too busy sorting out Jonny Foreigner."

To be continued.

D

And if the British government had to pay 6 or 7% on its bonds rather than 2.2%, you'd be saying what exactly?

I'd be saying "That's a lot of interest to pay".........

"but without growth you will never get out of debt"

Like Diamond, Dozy Dave and Boy George you make the enormous mistake of thinking it is an either or. Either we have austerity, austerity, austerity and scare the British population shitless or we end up like Greece. This is utter nonsense.

For example, in my post here

http://bgafd.co.uk/forum/read.php?f=3&i=251482&t=251296

I point out "You will then see that in Jan 1995 the 10 year Italian goverment bond yield was close to 14%, not the 7% which is causing our good financial commentators to shit themselves."

It is more of an issue now for Italy because they have lost the flexibility that comes with having their own currency which allows them to devalue if they need to.

Dont be sucker punched by Cameron, Osborne and the 80% Tory media, it really aint an austerity, austerity, austerity or go bankrupt choice.

CHeers
D

Yada Yada ad nauseum.....

Please remember, though, that Gordon Brown blamed the world economy for our recession. Another way of blaming 'johnny foreigner'. Now, before you start, I'm not entirely at odds with your post, and if you check back through the archives on here you'll see I backed Gordon Brown's excuses to the hilt..........but it does look like double standards that Labour are allowed to blame 'johnny foreigner' when it suits them but not the Tories/Lib Dems.

Fair comment.

"Please remember, though, that Gordon Brown blamed the world economy for our recession"

I think he argued it was a global banking crisis which it was in the extent that it hit all those countries which had sizeable investment banking divisions like America and Britain which were largely uncontrolled and those countries which had allowed their banks to go totally apeshit in terms of lending like the UK, US, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc etc.

So in essence it was Jonny Foreigner and the Brits who ended up bailing out the banks as a result of lack of adequate banking controls.

As always its down to which party's line you find slightly more credible. Or to use your description which party's double standards you find slightly less nauseating.

CHeers
D

And if British government borrowing cost 7% rather than 2%, we'd be bust too. But never mind, it didn't happen, so there's nothing to worry about.

[quote]I think he argued it was a global banking crisis which it was in the extent that it hit all those countries which had sizeable investment banking divisions like America and Britain which were largely uncontrolled and those countries which had allowed their banks to go totally apeshit in terms of lending like the UK, US, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc etc.[/quote]

Yes, global banking, not global economy. My bad. Point still stands, though.

[quote]As always its down to which party's line you find slightly more credible.[/quote]

True. One would have to provide evidence that Gordon Brown was more correct in blaming 'Johnny Foreigner' than David Cameron. You didn't provide it and any resident Tory supporter on here would just see your post as a typical blinkered metrosexual, muesli-eating, guardian-reading, Stalinist, who wears bicycle clips and has an aversion to meat !wink!

"And if British government borrowing cost 7% rather than 2%, we'd be bust too. But never mind, it didn't happen, so there's nothing to worry about."

Given Italy's 10 year bond yield in 1995 was 14% and they didnt go bust as far as I can recall when they had their own currency, the lire, what evidence if any have you that Britain would go bust with their own currency if the yield went to 7%?

CHeers
D

"And if British government borrowing cost 7% rather than 2%, we'd be bust too. But never mind, it didn't happen, so there's nothing to worry about."

Well read my original post in this thread about how euroland has been doing.

Remember what went on in the credit crunch.

I rest my case.

Of course I am a "a typical blinkered metrosexual, muesli-eating, guardian-reading, Stalinist, who wears bicycle clips and has an aversion to meat" as someone like yourself has no problem recognising.

Cheers
D