George Osborne takes on Bodger and Badger in the Chancellors debate.

George Osborne will be thrashing it out with Bodger and Badger in the Chancellors debate tonight (Ask the Chancellors). The debate takes place at 8pm on C4 and lasts for about an hour. I have full confidence in George to wipe the floor with them. Of course, Bodger and Badger will probably gang up on him.

Uh oh! Labour unleash yet to be used weapon - the truth.

Bad news for Conservatives this morning comes in the form of Alistair Darling's interview with the Times. It looks like the failed coup attempt may have been bad for the Conservative party after all. It has been speculated that Gordon Brown has been put on a leash, and the unfortunate outcome of this is that Darling has started telling the truth.

It has been long accepted that one of Gordon's many faults is his inability to tell the truth when it comes to the economy. Gordon has always assumed that the great British public are thick and that if he lies enough then we will believe him.

In his interview Darling (for the first time) gives it to us straight: "The next spending review will be the toughest we have had for 20 years". He goes on to finally confirm that their will be a budget before the General Election. This sudden found honesty is very bad news for Conservatives as it has been Labour's spin and lies that has alienated so many potential voters.

We can only hope that the people do not have short memories, because as sure has eggs are eggs, Gordon will be back to his old devious ways once the election is over.

Update: Iain Dale has more on this.

Alistair Darling gives PBR from "Position of Strength" - Poster.

Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling Joke.

I was sent this by a workmate:

BROWN, DARLING AND A DOG

Gordon Brown called Alastair Darling into his office one day and said, 'Alastair , I have a great idea!? We are going to go all out to win back Middle England '.
'Good idea PM, how will we go about it?' Said Darling.

'Well' said Brown 'we'll get ourselves two of those long Barbour coats, some proper wellies, a stick and a flat cap, Oh and a Labrador . Then we'll really look the part. We'll go to a nice old country pub, in Much Something or other and we'll show we really enjoy the countryside, .......... Oh! And remember not to mention the 'Hunting With Dogs' Act

'Right PM' said Darling. So a few days later, all kitted out and with the requisite Labrador at heel, they set off from London .

Eventually they arrived at just the place they were looking for and found a lovely country pub and, with the dog, went in and up to the bar.

'Good evening Landlord, Two pints of your best ale, from the wood please' said Brown. 'Good evening, Prime Minister' Said the landlord, 'two pints of Best it is, coming up'

Brown & Darling stood leaning on the bar contemplating new taxes, nodding now and again to those who came in for a drink, whilst the dog lay quietly at their feet. As they drank their beer they chatted about how heart-rending it was that pensioners were being imprisoned for not paying the council tax.

All of a sudden the door from the adjacent bar opened and in came a grizzled old shepherd, complete with crook. He walked up to the Labrador lifted its tail and looked underneath, shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the other bar. A few moments later, in came a wizened farmer who followed the same procedure, to the bewilderment of Brown and Darling. People of all ages and gender followed suit over the next hour. Eventually, unable to stand it any longer, Darling called the landlord over. 'Tell me' Said Darling, 'Why did all those people come in and look under the dog's tail like that??? Is It an old country custom?

'Good Lord no,' Said the landlord. 'It's just that someone has told them that there was a Labrador in this bar with two arseholes

Nick Robinson has a go at Alistair Darling.

At last BBC Journalist has had a decent go at a government minister. Nick Robinson asked Alistair Darling some probing questions and at times was pretty aggressive, accusing Darling of being dishonest. Of course Darling dodged all the question in a style we've become accustomed to from watching Brown during PMQs. No matter how hard Nick tries, Darling will not use the C word.

George Osborne's video response to Darling's Budget.

David Cameron - Oppose the 50% tax rate.

David Cameron should strongly oppose and promise to scrap the 50% tax rate for those earning over £150,000.

It is a typical Labour gimmick and the public are sick of their spin and lies. The 50% tax rate will raise about £1bn, which is less than the increase in fuel duty will raise. Compared to the £600bn Darling is going to borrow over the next four years, the gains from this politically motivated tax hike are a drop in the ocean. Do the public really want to see the country's money makers used has political pawns by Labour? Do they really want to see our highfliers driven abroad?

This is the Tory Toff campaign all over again and I believe the public won't fall for it. In fact I think they will be repulsed by more of Labour's cynical class politics.

UPDATE: I've just had another thought - just watch what this tax rate will do to charity incomes. I'm sure many paying 50% tax will say that they are already doing their bit and stop giving.

(No I don't earn anywhere near £150,000).

The Budget - What a pack of lies and spin.

This has got to be the worst budget on record (In fact, I've just realised that I'm shaking my head as I'm typing this).

The 50% tax rate for those earning over £150,000 will raise less than a billion pounds compared to the £175bn the government are going to borrow this year alone. It's a gimmick, it's electioneering and it's going to drive high earners (along with their businesses) abroad. Most of the extra money raised by Darling this year will not be coming from rich, but from the rest of us through a rise in tax on fuel, fags and booze. I think Labour have made a serious mistake introducing this 50% rate. Already the BBC are pointing out that it will raise next to nothing and will only alienate the money makers. In other words it's spin, and I think it will backfire like the Tory Toff campaign.

Like all Labour budgets it gets less palatable the longer you chew it over. They say they are "investing in growth", when they are actually making cuts to public services. They want us to believe these are not cuts but efficiency savings. If there are billions to be saved by making departments more efficient, then just how incompetent are the clowns running them? Apparently £3bn of "efficiency savings will be coming from the health and education budgets. Saying these would not be touched was yet one more lie.

And the debt... the debt.

My predictions for Alistair Darling's Budget (2009).

My predictions are not going to be specific, they are just going to be outline of the budget as a whole:

1. Tax reductions, increases in tax credits, giveaways to the shiftless and further borrowing/spending in general will all happen now.

2. All tax increases (apart from the stealth ones) and spending cuts (sorry - efficiency savings) will take place from 2010 onwards i.e. after the General election, making them Cameron's problem.

3. You will hear the world "Global" many, many times.

4. That's it.

This budget is going to be a farce. We won't see a real budget until after the general election.

Darling's Budget - The biggest Labour lie to date?

Wednesday will show us just how low Gordon Brown and his puppet Chancellor, Alistair Darling, are willing to stoop. If Darling really wants to save the economy, he has no choice but to cut spending and/or introduce major tax increases.

Alistair has already leaked to the press (leaks are OK when they're doing the leaking) that he is going to cut £15bn from Whitehall spending. Wow £15bn, sounds a lot doesn't it? It is, but unfortunately it is just a drop in the ocean compared to the likely to be announced borrowing figure of £160bn. Not only that, but these cuts are planned in for 2010-2012 (i.e. after the general election). Obviously this means that Brown and Darling are in fact cutting absolutely, positively nothing. They won't make cuts before an election and they most definitely will not raise taxes. They will put their jobs before economy and country, all for a few more years feeding at the trough.

I think it's pretty obvious that if this were to be the first budget of a new term in office, then any Chancellor worth their salt would be both cutting spending and raising taxes. They are betting that they can just hang on to power if they don't make the real cuts needed - or raise taxes sufficiently. It's a win-win situation: If their do nothing (before the election) policy works, then they get a few more years in power, but if they lose the general election, all the debt is David Cameron's problem. It's the last throw of the dice, and Labour are willing to gamble with our lives.

What I want to know is: if Whitehall is inefficient to the tune of £15bn, why can't these cuts be made now? And perhaps more importantly - why have they been allowed to become so massively inefficient? Why has nothing been done before now? I think you know why.

Maybe Labour's cheerleader J.K. Rowling has been helping write the budget: Alistair Darling and the budget of imaginary cuts.

George Osborne on the Andrew Marr Show - A+ (again).

George Osborne has just appeared on the Andrew Marr Show. Once again he put on an excellent performance, speaking clearly and getting his point out loud and clear. I cannot understand all those fools who feel the need to question his abilities every time we have blip in the polls or Labour trolls start stirring it up. People must remember that Labour have targeted Osborne for a reason, and the reason is that Cameron and Osborne are a great team - both are great in front of camera or an audience.

Alistair Darling has followed him up with the usual waffle - not worth repeating for the thousandth time.

I will post a link to the show when it is available.

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling Joke.

I found this joke over at Theo's place. It's good to share:

An Israeli doctor said, 'Medicine in my country is so advanced, we can take a kidney out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in six weeks'.

A German doctor said, 'That's nothing! In Germany, we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks'.

A Russian doctor said, 'In my country medicine is so advanced, we can take half a heart from one person, put it in another, and have them both looking for work in two weeks'.

The English doctor, not to be outdone, said 'Hah!. We can take two arseholes out of Scotland, put them in 10 & 11 Downing Street and have half the country looking for work within twenty-four hours'.

Gordon Brown's pre budget report - dead cat bounce.

The game is up Gordon Brown - A dead cat will bounce... but it is still a dead cat.

News of last nights ICM poll that showed the Conservatives maintaining their double digit lead (Con 42%, Lab on 31% and the Lib Dem on 19%) was followed by an incredibly damaging report from the BBC (shocker). The BBC's reporter was stopping the general public in the high street to ask them what they thought of Gordon Brown's tax cut package. Every single person stopped pointed out that they were only too aware that it was a short term tax con and that they would be picking up the tab later. It seems that the message put out by Cameron and Osborne has made it through to the general public, and that the only people who will be pleased to see tomorrows PBR will be those not already paying tax. I for one will be cutting back on my spending because I know that next year, or the year after I will be paying for Gordon Brown's incompetence.

The only people who are likely to carry on spending after tomorrows PBR announcement are those who don't have to worry about money, or those idiots who are in massive debt and don't know how to stop spending (sounds a bit like Gordon Brown). I think we can forget any rumours of Brown calling a snap election, it's too late now, the people have finally realised what is going on.

How can anyone believe Brown's solution for paying off the debt he is building up at a massive rate? He says that the increased revenue from an economic recovery (if his plan works) will help defuse his tax bombshell. There are two very large problems with this: One, it is highly likely that people will tighten their belts knowing that they are going to be hit by tax rises in the near future. And two, after eleven years of economic growth - Gordon Brown failed to pay off nation debt - why should our financially dyslexic leopard change his spots now?

Many thanks to The Spine for creating the cat image for me.

Reform: Pre-Budget Report set to prolong the recession

Press release from the independent, non-party think tank Reform:

A fiscal stimulus package would prolong the recession and damage the economy, according to a new report by the independent think tank Reform. The academic evidence – and the true finding of John Maynard Keynes – is that governments should restore confidence rather than unbalance the public finances further. The Chancellor needs to set a direction towards a high-saving, low tax, high productivity economy.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have said that the public finances can withstand a burst of extra borrowing. In fact the UK has the fourth highest structural budget deficit in the OECD. Including the Government’s long term spending commitments on pensions and education, the deficit stands at 6.6 per cent of GDP. Without changes in spending, that means eventual tax rises of £100 billion, or £4,000 per household, which would wipe out over a quarter of families’ disposable income.

The Treasury’s estimates on borrowing are not trustworthy. In the last five years, it has underestimated the true level of borrowing by a total of £121 billion.

The Chancellor has said that any increase in borrowing will be temporary because tax rises will follow at the right time. But a leading authority has said that political promises of this kind are not credible. The Chancellor risks long term damage to confidence by unbalancing the public finances. He is following “Toxic Keynesianism”.

Instead the Chancellor should get a grip of public spending. That does not mean crisis cuts in public spending, which would increase inefficiency and – by creating a perception of under-funding – lead to demands for higher spending later on. Instead it means the programme of public service reform that the Government should have introduced years ago. The recession should give the Government the courage to tackle the root causes of inefficiency, notably workforce agreements and political direction. The Chancellor can also set out a productivity agenda for the private sector and individuals.

Continue reading this article HERE.

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling split to widen?

Being a political blogger I'm a keen follower of all things political in the news. That said, I have to ask where is Alistair Darling? Why is Gordon Brown doing his saviour of the financial world routine when surely that is the chancellor's job? If a poll where held, how many amongst the general public would know the chancellor's name? And why are we constantly hearing from the media, announcements which should be made in parliament?

Gordon Brown has turned into a one man band media luvvie who has no regard for his chancellor or parliamentary process. Stories are circulating that there is a large split developing between the PM and Darling over Gordon's wild borrowing and spending plans. I'm sure Darling is all too aware that he will be left carrying the can when it all turns pear shaped - Brown will go back to his bunker.

Darling must be sure that the man who caused him to be facing this economic nightmare with an empty cupboard will only cause more harm. Are Brown's flamboyant tax plans really designed to bring the country through these difficult times - or are these short term Christmas tax cons designed to save Gordon Brown's career?

I hope that Darling puts the country ahead of political gain and finds the guts to stand up to Brown.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Gordon Brown is financially incompetent - Why trust him now?

Today Gordon Brown will announce his plans to increase borrowing and spending in an attempt to reduce some of the fallout from eleven years of his financial incompetence. The plans will be confirmed on Wednesday in Alistair Darling's announcement that he will be re-writing Gordon Brown's Golden rules. In other words the government has failed to meet their own levels of financial responsibility and they are now moving the goal posts. Unfortunately for the country, if such a football pitch existed, the opposing goalkeepers would struggle to see each other on a clear day.

I don't know if these measures will be good or bad for the country, but what I do know is that Gordon Brown is not the man to get us out of the hole he has dug. He will say today:

"We will and can allow borrowing to rise to help restore demand and to come to the aid of workers, businesses and homeowners. "We have already combined targeted support through the tax system - such as the temporary increase in stamp duty thresholds, the freeze in fuel duty and the £120 tax rebate for basic-rate taxpayers - with a commitment to maintain the necessary government investment to enable Britain to benefit from the upturn.

"Through our actions we are both supporting families and businesses now and helping them prepare for the future. That is why the responsible course is to borrow now to maintain growth and output, and to reduce borrowing as a proportion of GDP as the economy recovers and tax receipts rise again."

The last sentence says it all. This is a man who has had over a decade of global stability and financial growth and failed to reduce national debt - in fact he has increased that debt. He is responsible for allowing massive personal debt through poor regulation. Why should we trust him to "reduce borrowing as a proportion of GDP as the economy recovers"? All Gordon Brown knows is TAX, BORROW & SPEND, and when the money runs out he does it all over again. Gordon Brown will never have struggle financially, what does he care about future debt?

Alistair Darling "odds on" to be gone by end of year.

From William Hill:





SORRY, DARLING - YOU'RE OUT!

ALISTAIR DARLING is quoted at 9/4 by William Hill still to be Chancellor on the last day of this year - but is an odds-on shot at 1/3 to have lost the job by then.

'Mr Darling's recent comments cannot have enhanced his prospects of holding on to his current position - and punters have rushed to back him to be chopped as chancellor' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

And Hills don't fancy his chance of becoming the next Labour leader, offering him at 100/1 to do so. They make David Milliband 2/1 favourite to succeed Gordon Brown and also offer 4/1 Jack Straw; 5/1 Alan Johnson; 7/1 Harriet Harman; 8/1 Jon Cruddas.

LABOUR are now 3/1 with William Hill - the longest odds they have been since Tony Blair won them power - to win the next General Election. The Conservatives are 2/9 favourites - their shortest odds since losing power - with Hills making the Lib Dems 100/1.

Alistair Darling's interview - a foot in both camps.

I've read Alistair Darling's interview in the Guardian and I've come to the following conclusion: Darling is a man in the know, a man who knows that very shortly the Labour party is going to tear itself apart in an attempt to fix its problems. Darling's interview follows this basic theme: Things are bad and are going to get worse, the people are pissed off with us and we are failing to communicate - whilst at the same time saying that he believes Gordon Brown can sort this whole mess out. This sounds like a man putting a foot firmly in both camps.

There's going to be a battle and Darling wants to be one of those still standing when the dust settles. If Gordon hangs on to his position he can't be accused of not giving him his public support. However, should Brown get the boot he will be on record as understanding public dissatisfaction with the government and Brown's failure to get the party's message across.

This battle over the leadership of the Labour party, and ultimately the country will settle into two factions (three if you count those like Darling who will keep their heads down in the hope of still having a seat at the cabinet table). At the moment the two factions are likely to be David Miliband's band of usurpers and Gordon Brown's faithful few. I think we will hear similar statements from other ministers over the next couple of months - ministers who will edge their bets until they are sure which way the wind is blowing.

This positioning becomes clear when Darling's press adviser, Catherine tells him before his interview: "Now Alistair, tell her everything. Make sure you tell her everything." I don't think Catherine is telling Darling to make supporting noises about Brown, that will come naturally to him seeing as they are friends, I believe she is instructing Darling to be honest about they dire state of the party and its need for change (without saying that change should be Gordon going).

"Self preservation" will be the name of the game for many a Labour MP between now and the end of the year.

Iain Duncan Smith - Point of Order - Money to Northern Ireland.

After the 42 day vote was complete Iain Duncan Smith raised a Point of Order. He asked the Speaker if the Alistair Darling would make a statement tomorrow about any emergency amendments made to the budget to give money to Northern Ireland. I'm not sure but I think IDS said the figure was £1.2bn. Wow. UPDATE: The figure being mentioned is £200m.

Gordon Brown may have won today's vote, but I think he has done himself a whole lot of damage to secure that victory. If it is proved that he has given a massive bribe to the DUP, he will never recover.

Watch this space.

The list of rebels from the Guardian:

Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington)
Richard Burden (Birmingham Northfield)
Katy Clark (Ayrshire North & Arran)
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead)
Frank Cook (Stockton North)
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North)
Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Andrew Dismore (Hendon)
Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras)
David Drew (Stroud)
Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Paul Flynn (Newport West)
Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow)
Ian Gibson (Norwich North)
Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Sparkbrook & Small Heath)
John Grogan (Selby)
Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney)
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall)
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North)
Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Highgate)
Lynne Jones (Birmingham Selly Oak)
Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool Walton)
John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington)
Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock)
Bob Marshall-Andrews (Medway)
Michael Meacher (Oldham West & Royton)
Julie Morgan (Cardiff North)
Chris Mullin (Sunderland South)
Doug Naysmith (Bristol North West)
Gordon Prentice (Pendle)
Linda Riordan (Halifax)
Alan Simpson (Nottingham South)
Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury)
David Winnick (Walsall North)
Mike Wood (Batley & Spen)

10p tax - See you next year Darling?

OK, Darling has announced his fix for the 10p tax fiasco. This apology patch bribe is welcome news for around 4 million of those ripped off by Darling's first budget. However there are a couple of problems with this fortuitously timed solution (by-election?):

For a start this will cost £2.7bn. Where is it coming from? Darling is going to borrow it. So much for "Tories and their unfunded tax cuts". And we are already in serious debt.

Rather than helping out the 5.3 million people who needed help, everyone earning up to £40,835 will be £120 better off - except, that is, for over a million of the lowest paid.

George Osborne stressed Alistair Darling's announcement was a one-off payment rather than a long-term plan to compensate those hit by the axing of the 10p tax rate.

Let's summarise for those Labour supporting idiots who are crowing about this: Brown and Darling are only responding to their own cock-up. Over a million people are still worse off. If Brown had not been forced to act on this - he would not have. This is a one year fix - what about next year Darling? Or the one after that? Why increase the national debt by £27bn to reduce the tax burden on 16 million of those not hit by the last budget?

Please don't tell me anyone is falling for this arse saving, electioneering, fob off.