Debt
Dominic Raab reveals Britain’s true debt burden
With the Conservative Party continuing to bang on relentlessly about Europe, Boris Johnson issued a timely reminder yesterday that ‘most of our problems are not caused by “Bwussels”’. (Something that… Continue reading
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Labour is being forced to talk about ‘good borrowing’ before it is ready
It’s not a case of will they, won’t they when it comes to whether Labour would borrow more, but will they admit it and try to sell this plan to… Continue reading
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The report the Department for Education does NOT want you to read
One of the better policies of this government is its offering massive databases up for public scrutiny. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, argues David Cameron, and outsiders can scrutinise what… Continue reading
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Why the confusion between debt and deficit?
Polls show that, depending on how you ask the question, just between 8pc and 12pc of us realize that debt is rising. It’s not hard to work out why: first,… Continue reading
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An independent rap across the knuckles for the Prime Minister
Today’s letter from the Office of Budget Responsibility pointing out to David Cameron that the OBR’s growth forecasts have taken into account the effect of austerity on growth is embarrassing… Continue reading
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Deficit latest: Still £5 billion higher than last year
Today’s borrowing figures show that the government had a surplus of £11.4 billion in January. But before we get too excited, a bit of context is in order. There’s (almost)… Continue reading
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David Cameron rebuked for telling porkies about the national debt
Where was Andrew Dilnot in the Gordon Brown era? The head of the UK Statistics Authority has just rebuked the Prime Minister for telling porkies about debt on his ITV… Continue reading
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PMQs: Ed Miliband argues Labour would borrow for success
‘We’d borrow more, but we’d use it better.’ That was the message Ed Miliband found himself trying to get across when attacking David Cameron at PMQs today. He accused the… Continue reading
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After party political porky pies, Number 10 admits debt is rising
Finally: Number 10 admits that far from ‘dealing with debt’, the government is seeing it rise. This morning the Prime Minister’s spokesman was grilled on the party political broadcast that… Continue reading
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David Cameron tells porkies about Britain’s national debt
And then David Cameron has to go and spoil it all by telling porkies about what his government is doing to our national debt. The party election broadcast the Conservatives… Continue reading
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Austerity latest: spending up, deficit up.
We can all overdo it a little at Christmas, but the government’s monthly overdraft statement — which came in this morning — is of a different order. In December, HM… Continue reading
62 Comments
The Autumn Statement in 7 graphs
1. Growth evaporating. The Office for Budget Responsibility once again downgraded its growth forecasts for 2012-13 and, for the first time, also did so for 2014-16. Despite that, the OBR… Continue reading
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Just 6pc of the British realise that the national debt is rising
And while we’re on the subject of scandals in the British media, a pre-Budget ComRes poll just released by ITV News shows that just 6 per cent of the public… Continue reading
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Lies, damn lies, Nick Clegg and debt
Is Nick Clegg lying about what he’s doing to our national debt? The L-word is seldom used in politics, and in spite of their reputation most politicians try to get… Continue reading
66 Comments Autumn Statement: Downgrades R Us
How much trouble is George Osborne in? We don’t need to wait until his mini-Budget tomorrow, we already know most of it. And we’ll enter that peculiar Budget game, where… Continue reading
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IFS warns Osborne: don’t cook the books, like Brown
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has today published its attempt to predict what the OBR forecasts will show when they’re released as George Osborne sits down after delivering his Autumn… Continue reading
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George Osborne might meet his debt target after all
When George Osborne gives his Autumn Statement on 5 December, the OBR will publish its new forecasts for growth, deficit and debt. For the last few weeks, the consensus has… Continue reading
26 Comments Labour underestimated Osborne’s deficit
As Fraser reported at the time, Labour put up a deficit clock on its website last month, claiming that the government was borrowing £277 million more during Tory conference than… Continue reading
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Barack Obama Deserves A Second Term - Spectator Blogs
No matter the result of today’s Presidential election, it will not be Morning in America tomorrow. Of course the successful candidate will talk of America’s essential greatness. He will promise… Continue reading
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Nick clegg debt
Britain’s national debt is rising faster than any of the basket-case Eurozone countries that George Osborne is so fond of disparaging but here’s the thing: only 16pc of voters realise… Continue reading
84 Comments