(no subject)
So the conservative's new economic forecast basically shows Alaistair Darling was right. Growth is roughly the same, and the structural deficit will be decreased over the term of this parliament to roughly 3% as predicted. Additionally, unemployment is lower than expected. Surely this highlights the previous absurdity of their claims about Britain's impending downward spiral?
Furthermore, this deficit reduction can largely be achieved by a combination of the #6 billion of cuts that have already been made and a rise in VAT to 20% [Newsnight, 15th Jun 2010]. So where is the need for these drastic cuts going to come from? Conservative ideology perhaps.
What I haven't seen analysis on is whether the growth forecasts are now lower than predicted by Darling precisely due to the 6 billion cuts. Weren't we warned by many an economist that immediate cuts would limit growth? Given that the last actual growth rate was larger than predicted by Darling, and the deficit lower, I suspect these cuts are to blame.
Furthermore, this deficit reduction can largely be achieved by a combination of the #6 billion of cuts that have already been made and a rise in VAT to 20% [Newsnight, 15th Jun 2010]. So where is the need for these drastic cuts going to come from? Conservative ideology perhaps.
What I haven't seen analysis on is whether the growth forecasts are now lower than predicted by Darling precisely due to the 6 billion cuts. Weren't we warned by many an economist that immediate cuts would limit growth? Given that the last actual growth rate was larger than predicted by Darling, and the deficit lower, I suspect these cuts are to blame.