adhesive technologies: The myth of Tory credibility on the economy

Sunday, June 5, 2011

The myth of Tory credibility on the economy | Sunny Hundal (Guardian)

Polls show that the government's economic credibility is sinking, and explains
why we're seeing the cuts rhetoric toned down

Quick quiz: has the government saved the economy by taking difficult decisions
to cut spending drastically, or are they cutting by almost the same as Labour
would have anyway? You'd be forgiven for being confused because the
Conservative-led coalition is not sure either.

The government's "new cuts narrative" has been outlined in the past by Fraser
Nelson, attempted by George Osborne, and articulated last week by Tim
Montgomerie as: "Cameron state is 3% larger than the Brown state."

So did they save the economy or are they matching Labour? That depends on how
you slice the figures. But the government is getting away with such brazen
U-turns because journalists either look away or don't understand the
economics.

You may want to ask _why_ it's retreating from the fighting talk of severe
cuts? It is now received wisdom among the media and political class (including
some within Labour) that the government is seen as credible on the economy
because it's willing to make deep cuts.

It is a myth. The government knows this better than anyone and are belatedly
trying ...

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