Theresa "MAY" not build a better Britain.

[Anubis]

[Gym Beglin]

What part of that are they supposed to be "all over"?

The false promise from a ‘fiscally responsible’ government coming in to ‘sort out the budget’, so we can ‘live within our means’, because there’s no ‘magic money tree’.

 

Any cunting chance?

[Strontium]

The deficit has been reduced substantially. Brexit will kill it all stone dead, of course, but reducing the deficit seems pretty responsible to me.

[Scooby Dudek]

2. The government have abandoned closing the deficit in this parliament

After the general election in 2010, George Osborne changed course from Alastair Darling’s March 2010 budget, introducing spending cuts aimed at eliminating the deficit. Yet since Osborne’s first budget, the Tories have only ever run a deficit and never a surplus.

Their original target was to achieve cyclically-adjusted current balance by the end of a rolling five year forecast period. In December 2014 this was changed to target a balance by the third year of the rolling five year period (ie by 2017). Then in autumn 2015 this was changed to be a surplus by 2020-1 and then keep running a surplus ‘in normal times’. Then in autumn 2016 this was changed to be a target to reduce net borrowing to below two per cent of GDP by 2020-21.

At the autumn statement 2016 the OBR judged that the government had broken their own deficit rule (the fiscal mandate). The Institute for Fiscal Studies now say ‘fiscal policy is not currently subject to any fiscal targets that can be met or missed in this parliament’. In other words, when it comes to the deficit, the government have let themselves completely off the hook.

http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2017/03/08/budget-2017-20-tory-failures/

 

The Conservative Party said it wants to balance the books in 2025, a full decade after its initial deadline to eliminate the deficit - raising economists’ fears that the national debt is ballooning to worrying levels.

Theresa May’s manifesto sets out a loosely-worded “aim for a balanced budget by the middle of the next decade”.

“Conservatives believe in balancing the books and paying down debts – because it is wrong to pass to future generations a bill you cannot or will not pay yourself,” the manifesto said.

But economists said the party lacks ambition in its plans to cut the deficit. The government borrowed £52bn last year and the Office for Budget Responsibility expects that to rise to £60.1bn in this financial year.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/18/conservatives-promise-another-eight-years-deficits-economists/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Promised to have the deficit eliminated by 2015, now saying it may be eliminated by 2025, really responsible. *

 

* This was a year ago, so no doubt they will have moved the date back again, to much ridicule and scrutiny from our independent media.

 

[Numero Veinticinco]

The deficit has been reduced substantially. Brexit will kill it all stone dead, of course, but reducing the deficit seems pretty responsible to me.

Oh God. So, the issue isn’t anything like the way you’re attempting to frame it there. Reducing the deficit is a good idea, obviously, and not an original one. The issue, as you well know, is the coalition government, that you supported so vocally, said the deficit would be eliminated in one government. The plan to do this was mostly the introduction of quite nasty, harsh cuts. Temporary pain that we were all in together for long term gain. The issue is that it didn’t happen, still hasn’t happened, and the ‘unacceptable’ interest payments are still there. Lots of pain, little gain, and not in it together.

 

So no, not that responsible when you look deeper than just whether or not we should reduce the deficit and look at how to reduce it. Not only wasn’t it achieved but the nasty measures used to attempt to do it proved unwarranted. I’m surprised that you think your tactics will work.

[Strontium]

"Nasty harsh cuts" that Labour would have brought in too. Yes, we've been through this all before.

[Hades]

If a government truly cared about deficits, they'd focus all their energies on closing tax loopholes. Unfortunately that's in the too-hard or conflict-of-interest basket so better to destroy poor people's lives instead.

[Jairzinho]

If a government truly cared about deficits, they'd focus all their energies on closing tax loopholes. Unfortunately that's in the too-hard or conflict-of-interest basket so better to destroy poor people's lives instead.

 

And it can be supported by enough of the public as they´re constantly told the economy of a country works exactly the same way as that of an individual.

 

Hence all the "If I haven´t got enough money for a pint at the end of the week then I don´t buy one" type comments you see on QT, for example.

[Hades]

.

[Numero Veinticinco]

"Nasty harsh cuts" that Labour would have brought in too. Yes, we've been through this all before.

Really? That’s your response. You’re really quite disingenuous at times. For all that you claim how righteous you are, your actions are really quite different. How you act is far more reflective of you as a person than what you say about yourself.

[Strontium]

Really? That’s your response. You’re really quite disingenuous at times. For all that you claim how righteous you are, your actions are really quite different. How you act is far more reflective of you as a person than what you say about yourself.

I'm just tired of having to defend my party against politically motivated bullshit from people who would have done exactly what we did (actually not quite true; the Lib Dems wanted more tax rises than Labour and the Tories, and we had to agree to heavier cuts in coalition talks with both parties).

[Numero Veinticinco]

I'm just tired of having to defend my party against politically motivated bullshit from people who would have done exactly what we did (actually not quite true; the Lib Dems wanted more tax rises than Labour and the Tories, and we had to agree to heavier cuts in coalition talks with both parties).

Labour has nothing to do with me, so I’m not going to lay out the differences in their plan and the one the LD/Tory government imposed. I’m more concerned with what actually happened. It wasn’t as you framed it in the first post.

[Jairzinho]

But you're not arguing with people who "would have done exactly what we did". You're not arguing with people that blindly support every single Labour policy ever, as you do with your party. 

[Strontium]

I'm not arguing with anyone. Just stating things as they are. I'm sure Saint Jeremy will find a way of giving us all our own personal unicorn that shits rainbows without anyone having to pay.

[magicrat]

Don't quite know why everyone wants to pick a fight with the Lib Dems,  

 

Surely this sort of behaviour is the real problem,.

 

[Numero Veinticinco]

I'm not arguing with anyone. Just stating things as they are. I'm sure Saint Jeremy will find a way of giving us all our own personal unicorn that shits rainbows without anyone having to pay.

Yes. The way they are.

[Jairzinho]

I'm not arguing with anyone. Just stating things as they are. I'm sure Saint Jeremy will find a way of giving us all our own personal unicorn that shits rainbows without anyone having to pay.

 

Wibble.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

An embarrassing day for the out of control Tories.

 

Esther McVey has to give a statement to the House for misleading Parliament regarding Universal Credit. This is usually a serious issue that results in a minister being sacked or resigning from their position. Neither looks like happening to McVey. More weak and wobbly leadership from May.

 

Also, Baroness Warsi makes yet another public call for the Tories to launch an investigation into "Islamaphobia" in the party. Once again, it appears to have fallen upon deaf ears and the carpet sweeper is in overdrive.

 

Just imagine if Labour would've acted in such a manner over the antisemitism allegations? It's astounding. At least Labour had the good grace to investigate the claims, even if the vast majority of them were spurious and instead amounted to criticism of war crimes, extra-judicial execution and contemporary apartheid.

[magicrat]

An embarrassing day for the out of control Tories.

 

Esther McVey has to give a statement to the House for misleading Parliament regarding Universal Credit. This is usually a serious issue that results in a minister being sacked or resigning from their position. Neither looks like happening to McVey. More weak and wobbly leadership from May.

 

Also, Baroness Warsi makes yet another public call for the Tories to launch an investigation into "Islamaphobia" in the party. Once again, it appears to have fallen upon deaf ears and the carpet sweeper is in overdrive.

 

Just imagine if Labour would've acted in such a manner over the antisemitism allegations? It's astounding. At least Labour had the good grace to investigate the claims, even if the vast majority of them were spurious and instead amounted to criticism of war crimes, extra-judicial execution and contemporary apartheid.

 

 

The only thing happening in Westminster now is Brexit. Its all consuming and the government are totally paralysed in all other areas to the point where literally nothing else matters or can be addressed . Its beyond scandalous and a complete dereliction of their responsibilities never mind carrying out the will of the people. 

[Section_31]

Hate the straw man about left wing economics being about 'getting something for nothing' or building things with imaginary money.

 

It's not is it? It's about understanding the difference it makes, not only economically but socially, when everyone is lifted up.

 

"...Travelling by train, he’s asked if he will abolish first class. “No, I’ll abolish second class,” he says. “I think all people are first class, don’t you?” 

[Skidfingers McGonical]

An embarrassing day for the out of control Tories.

 

Esther McVey has to give a statement to the House for misleading Parliament regarding Universal Credit. This is usually a serious issue that results in a minister being sacked or resigning from their position. Neither looks like happening to McVey. More weak and wobbly leadership from May.

 

Also, Baroness Warsi makes yet another public call for the Tories to launch an investigation into "Islamaphobia" in the party. Once again, it appears to have fallen upon deaf ears and the carpet sweeper is in overdrive.

 

Just imagine if Labour would've acted in such a manner over the antisemitism allegations? It's astounding. At least Labour had the good grace to investigate the claims, even if the vast majority of them were spurious and instead amounted to criticism of war crimes, extra-judicial execution and contemporary apartheid.

What’s she mislead on Universal Credit? I thought she was in shit for sharing pictures of a fry up.

[TheBitch]

What’s she mislead on Universal Credit? I thought she was in shit for sharing pictures of a fry up.

Did it have no beans on?

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Did it have no beans on?

She’s a Tory. They don’t have beans.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Read an intersecting fact today....

 

When Gordon Brown left office the national debt after bailing out the banks was £900 billion...

 

After 8 years of austerity the debt is £2 trillion....

 

Just wondering why the media aren't all over this?

Milliband's Labour have got a lot to answer for. They refused to even try to counter the lie that "cuts are necessary to reduce the debt". As a result, the lie got so embedded that the party promising the most damaging cuts were able to promote themselves as responsible and competent.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

I'm not arguing with anyone. Just stating things as they are. I'm sure Saint Jeremy will find a way of giving us all our own personal unicorn that shits rainbows without anyone having to pay.

Wait.

 

Did you just paraphrase "there's no magic money tree"?