Monday 20 April 2009

See Ed Balls skipping

31 comments:

wibbler said...

LOL.

Balls is completely discredited politically. I hope he is kicked out.

But good on him for this, he seems pretty good at it. I think it's great that politicians are still willing to do silly things occasionally.

Me said...

He's better than me!

James Burdett said...

Are we down on t'other site?

Me said...

Is the main site down?

James Burdett said...

I think the hamsters have fallen off the wheel.

Stephen B said...

Not looking hopeful at the moment...

Anonymous said...

Oh no, the main site is down yet again - Grrh!

Peter from Putney

corporeal said...

there goes the main site

Morris Dancer said...

Nooooo!

Anyway, I thought Cameron had a strong response. Shocking figures. 3.5% growth in two years is probably bonkers.

wibbler said...

Cameron had an open goal, and he scored in great style.

But the Tories REALLY REALLY REALLY need to look ANGRY instead of laughing at Cameron's best lines.

Having even frontbenchers chortling at the prospect of having to go to the IMF won't look great on the news.

James Burdett said...

Morris Dancer - there is no way the growth figures are credible for next year or the year after. So the borrowing figures are crap.

SimonStClare said...

Oh bugger, and I had nearly caught up with the thread on the main site too.

It’s a conspiracy I tell ya.

Me said...

http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/04/budget-instant-reaction.html


http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/04/optimistic_abou.html

Me said...

Again:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/04/optimistic_abou.html

Me said...

I give up!

Morris Dancer said...

Wibbler, I agree that won't look great, but it'll be eclipsed by the mountain of debt.

Interesting comment by Iain Dale, stating most appear to be against the 50% tax rise. Could it be a new IHT opportunity for the Tories? A counter-intuitive tax reduction for the better off having popular appeal.

Anonymous said...

Mike - presumably the problem is your server (although I thought it had recently been seriously upgraded). If it can't cope today, God help it come General Election night. Why not open a donation box specifically to pay for a new server which can actually cope - I for one would contribute. If, however, the problem is Wordpress' responsibility, why not make the move to another Blog operator who can cope with your traffic?

Ted said...

too many lurkers bringing it down?

What a lot of commentators were saying was "be truthful", Darling created a fantasy growth forecast, in the way Brown always did.

Nick Robinson did highlight that if there is positive growth by last quarter (unlikely but thats the forecast) the figures would come out in last weeks of GE campaign. That must be Gordon's last hope.

Gabble said...

Cameron was shallow and jokey. Not very statesmanlike.

It'll keep the troops happy but exposed his complete unsuitability to the office of PM.

ken said...

Ted. But with the hike in VAT in January 2010, I can guarantee a bounce in Q4 2010. But, everyone will know that it is a technical bounce. In fact even if it isnt a technical bounce that will be the accusation.

What a rubbish budget and while the 50% rate may go, it will encourage the rich ex-pats not to base in the UK. It's unhelpful and counterproductive.

Me said...

Live analysis:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Unplugged/Budget2009

Morris Dancer said...

Hilarious LabourList top article. Apparently a 50% tax rate is a 'plan for recovery'.

Gabble said...

IMF:

ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST 2009
UK: -4.1%
US: -2.8%
Germany: -5.6%
France: -3.0%
Japan: -6.2%

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8011907.stm

James Burdett said...

Gabble, yes just basically means that the borrowing figures that he announced less than an hour ago are a pile of shit.

John O said...

Financial markets speak: the pound down 2 1/2 cents against the dollar and also falling against the Euro.

(Agree with anon 13.56 about the main site. PBC will quite literally not be the place to be on general election night if the technology-thinggy-dooberry-stuff isn't somehow improved).

antifrank said...

Could someone tell me whether or not Alistair Darling used the word "election"? It's the only one of my bets that I haven't caught up with either way.

John O said...

Antifrank, I don't think (emphasizes the think) he did.

antifrank said...

That IMF prediction is terrifying.
-4.1% this year and -0.4% next year. On the plus side, practically no one will have to pay 50% tax.

antifrank said...

John O, thanks. Ah well, it was a 20-1 shot.

ken said...

Gabble.

I don't buy these forecasts. The most overextended countries do best on these numbers. I think it's another straight line extrapolation.

FWIW you can see the full table here

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2009/RES042209A.htm

Mike Smithson said...

New thread up here on PB2