Families will pay for Labour’s failure to prepare, warns George Osborne

As GDP figures show Britain's economy contracted by 0.5% in the last quarter, George Osborne has atacked the government for its role in current economic difficulties:

"Everyone was expecting a bad figure but this is much worse. It shows that millions of British families are in for a very difficult time in the months ahead. Conservatives will do everything to help people cope.

"It is a defining moment in the record of Gordon Brown. The day that we can all see that the central claims he made over ten years, that he had abolished boom and bust and therefore didn't need to set aside money for a rainy day has been shown to be completely false.

“Sadly it will be millions of families, pensioners and companies that will pay the price for Labour's failure to prepare for this moment."

Comments

[James Burdett]

So after a decade of being told we had been made recession proof, we now have the first proof of recession.

[rich russian]

a bit rich from the boy who was comitted to carry on the same spending plans...

[Cleethorpeski Rockski]

Portaloo opined last night on This Week that he thought the Tories might now abandon the "we will spunk as much of your money as Labour will" pledge.

Is that too much to hope for? By saying he'd spend the same, Fib-eon has put us in a bind. Now he needs to think of a way of "sharing" the proceeds of recession.

[Man in a Shed]

That's more like it George !

Its time to lay into Labour, their lies and their undeniable failure.

[James Burdett]

I will point out that when people are losing their homes, their jobs, their pensions and their future prospects, few people will remember what George Osborne said on spending in the past and even less will care.

[ACT]

As I think Henry Mayhew laughingly put it, does this mean that Gid the Fib no longer intends to 'share the proceeds of growth'?

[Alan S]

What James Burdett writes is partly true but voters losing their jobs and homes will wonder if George The Yacht can understand the pressures facing them.

[James Burdett]

Alan S - I haven't heard it mentioned by non-politically inclined people at all. Most people have bigger fish to fry.

[GB£.com]

I don't think the Tories have currently got their boom'n'bust attack right, allowing Brown to highlight that it is a global bust so not his fault, and why Cameron's attempts to pin it on Brown are failing.

I'd bash out a poster with the words 'Global Boom then Global Bust' with Brown underneath, sneakily crossing out the first 'Global' and replacing it with 'Gordon'. You could then have a strapline like "He took the credit but avoids the blame."

The point being, the public are sympathetic to this being a global bust, Brown repeats that it is a global bust, so his weak area is taking the credit for what was actually a 'global boom'.

[Tony Makara]

Good to hear Mr Osborne taking us back to the real news, namely that the 'Labour-recession', and we should keep calling it that, throws grave doubts over the abilities of Gordon Brown, while as chancellor and now as premier. Why we are in this mess is one question? Why we haven't the means to get out of this mess is another? A nation that is overtaxed, crushed by debt and doesn't have a penny in its coffers to pay its way, owes all this to Gordon Brown. The very architect of the credit-boom, the fake-boom, the live-today-pay-tomorrow culture that has literally left us all much worse off.

Blame Brown. Blame Brown. Blame Brown.

[M Dowding]

This dreadful situation we are now in means that Brown is now a novice at handling something never seen before and that he caused. Ergo no time for a novice but time for change!

[James Burdett]

A few weeks ago Brown & Darling said that they wanted to be the rock on which Britain could depend, when it is now becoming clear that they are the rock on which the economy has foundered.

[M Dowding]

I did not put that as well as I wished. It is a chance to attack Brown as a novice at handling a depression!

[Ealing53]

The Tories should be all over our TV screens pointing out the government's failings. Instead they look like rabbits in headlights, unsure of what to do next.

Every member of the shadow Cabinet should be doing the rounds of the media outlets. And where has Mr Cameron gone?

[James Burdett]

Ealing53 - It is a Friday, so nothing they say will get much of a hearing.

[plutocrat]

Families will pay? What not Russian billionaires?

[Rightwingery]

As long as the people who we are putting in front of the cameras are plausible I definately see no reason why we shouldn't unleash the hounds!

'Plausibl' means no Villiers, Schapps etc

[Tanuki]

So if "families will pay" does this mean us single-people have somehow managed to escape the coming pain?

Surely we should get George to be fully inclusive and talk in future about 'people' rather than families.

[London Tory]

Better from Osborne.

I enjoyed Ken Clarke's timely aside in Parliament yesterday. In response to a question about when he would write his memoirs;

"I have no intention of writing them MID CAREER" !

[resident leftie]

Osborne supports the bank bailout. He supports Labour spending plans, so he won't be cutting taxes. What the hell would he have done differently? A proper Tory would say "I would have cut public expenditure and lowered taxes." He can't even say that.

And the masterplan? Tinkering around with council tax.

[grumpy old man]

Dear RL. Selective Quoting again. What GO said was that he would follow NuLabs' spending plans UP TO 2010. Just like Gordon's pledge in 1997, which was mainly to avoid scaring the horses, but also to assure the wealth-producing community, mysteriously shrunken after 11 years of no more Boom and Bust, of timely notice to changes in taxation. In fact, as your corrupt cabal of Stalinistas can think of nothing better than to fill their troughs at public expense to the bitter end, GO's statement is now meaningless. Glad to see that you now think that lowering taxes and cutting public expenditure is a proper policy. With any luck, there'll be nobody available to tell an 80-y-o lady that she can't feed the birds, or a jobsworth telling a scaffolding contractor that he needs a Waste Removal Licence to take his sandwich wrappings home. I'm surprised he was not also clobbered with environmental damage for dropping the crumbs from his lunch. Still when these and others non-job make-work parasites get the boot, there's always NuLab approved roof-lagging work.

[Northern Tory]

Better but expecting double shifts from George after recent events. Time to get passionate and even nasty if required...

[GB£.com]

If Britain is 'better placed' to weather to global economic storm, why is our currency collapsing against the EUR and USD and not the other way around?

[David Belchamber]

GB£.com October 24, 2008 at 11:12

"The point being, the public are sympathetic to this being a global bust, Brown repeats that it is a global bust, so his weak area is taking the credit for what was actually a 'global boom'.

Quite right to point this out. Also, we should agree that the present situation is partly due to the global circumstances but there are two layers to this cake, and the top layer is Gordon Brown's fault.

I am still waiting for a forensic analysis of all the salient issues from the conservatives.

[John]

Did Osborne warn about the looming recession two years ago, or say that the economy was built on massive debt and dodgy banking practices? I really can't recall ever seeing him consulting his crystal balls...
Really, who cares what Osborne says?

[resident leftie]

Posted by: grumpy old man | October 24, 2008 at 13:06
In fact, as your corrupt cabal of Stalinistas can think of nothing better than to fill their troughs at public expense to the bitter end, GO's statement is now meaningless...

The world economy is collapsing because of the actions of a small group of greedy bankers, and you are blaming council workers? At least I can agree with your last statement.

Glad to see that you now think that lowering taxes and cutting public expenditure is a proper policy.

I think it's a proper Tory policy. I think people deserve a genuine small government alternative to Labour.

[confused members]

I don't understand Tory members. The time to have checked out whether they wanted the likes of Cameron, Osborne, Hilton et al was in 2005. Don't be so lazy and uncurious next time.

[NigelC]

I do recall the viral web campaign about the "inner tosser" in everyone some time back.
I think this was warning all of us about the high levels of personal debt.
The campaign was poor but it shows somebody in the party was thinking about the level of personal debt some ago.

[Edward Huxley]

One family will not be feeling the pain - Osborne`s. Apart from his personal wealth he is sure to collect his MP`s pay; recently increased by 2%, or in cash money £1600 and of course a gilt edged pension as well.

[pp]

Good to see osbourne talking on his subject.

Needs to rip the face off the tax-badger.

Labour say "we will get through it" - don't aim too high!! Of couse we will 'get through it' -- UK isn't about to disappear - fools.

Global slow down may be external, but Brown is 100% responsible for how well prepared (or otherwise) the UK is.

Mandleson says "it will be tough" -- not for mandleson it won't -- fool.

The headline of this article seems almost 'gloating' -- needs more sympathy, and recommendations.

Don't worry about Labour stealing your good ideas for getting through the recession -- they are in power, and we need help now!

Get a 'self employment' unit in place now -- make it very, very simple for people to work as sole traders - no paperwork. Make it almost as simple for small groups of people to work as micro-businesses. Help the people at the bottom keep their heads above water with out 'opting out' of the system.

OAPs are *rejecting* socialism regarding 'free swimming' - they want /choice/ chose where to go, choose whether to pay, choose what servcies they want to use - they say state monoply will mean lowest common denominator services, and actually makes payment *compulsory* through taxes, rather than optional on use...

People understand this -- ride it to hammer home the benefits of tax cuts and privately financed HEALTH, EDUCATION - and now even BANKS!

[M Dowding]

One family will not be feeling the pain - Osborne`s. Apart from his personal wealth he is sure to collect his MP`s pay; recently increased by 2%, or in cash money £1600 and of course a gilt edged pension as well.

Posted by: Edward Huxley | October 24, 2008 at 16:01

James Burdett, many congratulations on beating the Draper trolls to bag the first response. As for you, Huxley, what a moronic post. I suspect Lord Mandleson, non-elected new boss of LieBor dogma followers will be well rewarded together with his extended family for the rest of his life. Ozzie was at least elected and will have to face re-election by the voters. Remember voters, Huxley? Used to be part of the democratic process, now so hated by Labour! They get to vote in Glenrothes soon if gun law doesn't stop them.

[M Dowding]

Pound/dollar subject today:
The slump surpassed that of Black Wednesday in September 1992 when Britain was ejected from the european exchange Rate Mechanism.

Significant insomuch Labour are now deeper into the mire than their gloating days of yore!

[Edward Huxley]

Seems my comments have upset Mr. Dowding. For what it is worth, my opinion of Peter Mandelson is even worse than what I think about Mr. Osborne.

We are going to get more mealy-mouthed words of sympathy from all sides at Westminster, saying how sorry they are, share our pain, etc. while they continue to enjoy their privileged status. Twas ever thus.

Mr. Osborne assures us that "Conservatives will do everything to help people to cope". Just what, I would like to know.

He has shown one basic flaw - lack of judgment and he should never be a government minister.

If I`m a moron Mr. Dowding I`m pretty sure I`m not the only one. Suggest you read Simon Heffer in the Telegraph today.