Business investment forecasts also down and standards of living also forecast to fall. Doesn't sound much like the party for all to me.
I doubt anything would sound like a party to you duke. This is why you suit the mould of the extreme remainer, you can't look beyond the next five minutes. People do not get fat overnight so why do they think they can lose all the gained weight over night. This is one of the downsides of our political system. 4 years one party does one thing, next time another party is elected and does it the other way so we have a ping pong of extremes constantly swinging no further than each parties own limitations. Labour will always spend money we do not have passing it onto the next generations and tories will always spend less thinking our grandchildren are the aim of the intent. Far too many governments of all sides have abdicated taking the hard decisions knowing the voters will turn on them and that is what is happening now. Some see that as a start of asking the difficult questions, others run away wanting to to be like Viv Nicholson and spend spend spend their way out of problems. Most economies have readdressed their forecasts from a number of years ago, even the obr though has been known to to make some issues of forecasting accuracy. Uncertianty is the biggest factor and Brexit was always going to bring that, even Germanys own projected growth was made before they knew Merkels position and government are unlikely to succeed and are struggling to even make a government. If you judge results like a facebook updates, you will always be in the mire, will always be looking to blame someone else and will always be jealous others took the right decisions you failed to take. In many ways, as May looks wobbly, she is infact tackling the very things other governments from all sides, have avoided. To be honest duke if anything is ever to change for the better, what we need is far less people like you who cannot see anything but darkness, but more people who see we can make things better
So let me get this straight @noobie The UK economy is growing DESPITE Brexit? How can this be? Our forum oracle, Dukey66 promised millions of job losses, The NHS closing down, EU citizens leaving in droves to get away from us racists, businesses pulling the shutters down and turning the lights out en-masse, plague and pestilence. This makes no sense, he's always right you know.
Might need that when they have forced the less well off to get rid of their diesel cars and can't afford to replace them.
I watched PM's questions today. I have to say, old Jeremy was stuttering and stammering, looked very scripted and unconvincing. He can't go on screaming that everything the Conservatives do is evil, that he will give everyone free stuff and there will be no economic consequences to McDonnells cavalier promised spending spree and renationalization, before he's seen through by even the most ardent leftie. His dander is up because of May's poor election performance, but a decent new leader of the Conservatives would put him in his box, his already shaky ratings would plummet and he'd be in a similar situation to last year when his shadow ministers were sprinting out of a revolving door, trying not to bump into each other on the way out. John McDonnell, Dianne Abbott, Angela Rayner, Tom Watson, Emily Thornberry, Rebecca Long-Bailey........give me a break. May looked half decent, but I fear she's already lost the electorate given her performance over the last 18 months. A lot will depend on the final Brexit position, but if / when the new leader comes, unless they totally cock up the choice (not beyond the realms of possibility tbh ), Corbyn will be no more than a scruffy memory.
Corbyn did lose the plot today, he made Chris Evans in top gear look like a mute, Corbyn really was shouty mc shoutface. For me, just like the snp, he's peaked and he blew it. I honestly think this last election was his one and only chance and he lost it. Most of the chancers in momentum will be frustrated as hell knowing it is now unlikely to stop brexit and unlikely to get another shot at the title for at least another 4 years. Most of those got caught up in the momentum moment and I would guess, most will have moved onto other things to campaign against. Thornberry is a funny old sort, some may remember her as the woman who took the piss out of white van man with a st george flag outside his house in strood and was then fired by Milliband but despite saying she supports Jeremy's for the people mantra, her real title is Lady Nugee. Wife of Sir Christopher Nugee who is a high court judge who went to school at corpus christi, Oxford and both live in a £3 million house in Islington, Mansion tax my arse. As with most high court judiciaries, they belong normally to a legal firm, his used to be the firm of Wilberforce Chambers whose specialities included the lucrative and controversial, field of off-shore trusts (which, among other things, help rich people avoid taxes) In regards to brexit, can you imagine Corbyn in amongst all the establishment in the eu where most of them think socialism means champagne with their salmon. He would have a hissy fit and jump on the first plane to Venezuela
Corbyn's reply to the Budget speech was also dire and poorly delivered. OK, most of it has to be written in advance without the knowledge of what is going to be in the budget but it was the same old crap, @duke63 would have loved it. Is it not possible for a Labour politician to talk for more than a few sentences without mentioning the words "foodbank, doctors, nurses teachers or austerity" ? It really is getting very tedious.
A pity Hammond didn't give the the Marxist juveniles something to really shriek about. A while ago when the Brexit "negotiations" got underway, Hammond made the veiled threat that if the EU dragged its feet or sought to punish us, Britain could become the low tax, light-regulation offshore enterprise haven of Europe that would suck investment out of the continent like a vacuum cleaner pulling coins out of the back of a sofa. Brexit aside, (the EU has unsurprisingly reverted to stereotype) what a missed opportunity. That is exactly what he should have done instead of tinkering round the edges and doing just enough to keep his job.
The Shadow Chancellor has all the solutions. Its scary that so many will listen to what he says with a sense that he has all the solutions and a panacea to their woes...
Pretty damning indictment of who the current Tories represent when living standards in 2022 are forecast to still be lower for the majority than they were in 2008.
