You’ve got to feel sorry for the Hacks sometimes. All around Fleet Street, and across the vast regions of the broadcast media, they were all prepared for one exciting thing that they felt was all but guaranteed; Gordon Brown’s comeback.
Apparently, it’s already happened. What, you missed it too? So did the Hacks. And they’re not happy. They wanted more than that.
I’m not entirely sure what the big ideas were? I don’t think it was the mandatory organ-donation stuff. Nah. Could it be the compulsory cookery classes that Ed Balls has been waffling about? Hmm. You know, I think it might have been all of these ‘minor’ points.
The trouble is, Gordon Brown is currently rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. The economy is in crisis, and his cabinet are talking about Delia Smith.
During yesterdays Prime Ministers Questions, Gordon continued his ‘I will just shout at David Cameron and not answer any questions’ strategy. When Ken Clark (one of the most intelligent MPs in
Every single Tory MP in the house roared with laughter. So did most of the Lib Dems. The majority of Labour MPs shrunk into their seats. The tide is turning.
When New Labour came to power, it had such a strong majority, that they could have said anything. And they did. Gordon Brown even publicly declared the ‘unusually healthy state’ of the economy and government accounts that he inherited. Ken Clarke had done a sterling job. In fact, the entire supply-side economic system implemented over the course of the last Tory government worked.
New Labour have boosted taxes and made some more money for the government to invest, but the Tories cut taxes, stimulated economic growth and were overwhelmed by the money that came in. Through tax increases, Labour’s first ten years in power have doubled investment in the NHS. Through tax cuts and the economic growth that brought, the Conservatives tripled investment in their first ten years. And they invested it properly too.
There were problems, and with every boom comes a bust, (Black Wednesday), as Tony Blair kept saying. But what he (and Gordon Brown), fail to realise, is that if the boom is good enough, we can weather the bust. There were troubles with Black Wednesday, sure. Many people lost their homes, etc. But the economy was in such strong, rude health, that we survived. And under John Major and Ken Clark, we came out with a steady, prudent, strong economic growth.
It was right to continue this for several years, as Gordon Brown did. That’s why he was so honest about it. He should, of course, have implemented a supply-side strategy in around 2000-ish, which would have saved us from trouble now. But he didn’t.
The irony that Labour campaigned (and have done for years) on a basis that the Tories were not to be trusted on the economy, while being so open about what good health the government bank balance they inherited was in, seemed to escape the Hacks, politicians, and the public at large.
Time however, heals all wounds. And the public are beginning to remember what John Major meant when he talked about the ‘feel good factor’. They also now recognise the ‘feel bad factor’ we currently have.
Gordon Brown presided over an inefficient government spending spree. All the money that the Tories had saved up, was wasted, with no value for the people in return. The slight global economic downturn that the healthy governments around the world will step over unscathed, is going to hurt us badly. And that is entirely current Prime Ministers fault. The PM, who when he was chancellor, inherited a ‘dream’ economic situation. It was his to screw up. And screw up he did.
That’s why Gordon Brown was laughed at and PMQs. And that signals the end of his great comeback. It lasted minutes.