Friday 31 May 2013

Oh what a pair of teasers!

Ed Miliband and Ed Balls to set out Labour approach to public spending shouted the G Headline. Two key speeches will seek to define spending priorities and remove perception of party as indecisive promised the subheading. Gosh, I thought, that is precisely what the country has been awaiting with bated breath, they are going to be such big events people will be selling their tickets to them on E-Bay.
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls plan to make two major speeches on the economy next week setting out their approach to public spending, including a commitment to cap spending on what is described as structural welfare spending as opposed to spending increases caused by recession.
“a commitment to cap spending on what is described as structural welfare spending “ – is this Labour’s version of George Osborne’s commitment to cap Annually Managed Expenditure? Surely Labour aren’t proposing to bring in means testing of pensioner benefits like free bus passes, TV licences and Winter Fuel Allowance? This gets potentially better and better in terms of the prospect of some “blow you away” speeches.

And then Patrick Wintour went and burst the bubble.
Ed Balls's speech is not expected to state Labour's specific spending plans for the next parliament, something that will be left to closer to the election in the light of the scale of any economic recovery by 2015.

His aides acknowledge that his five-point plan set out in the first year of the Conservative government has lasted longer than originally intended because of the unexpectedly long recession, and the time has come for a broader approach on spending.

Balls has already promised a zero-based spending review after the election, and has also said his deficit reduction plans will be guided by rules overseen by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
I don’t think I shall be joining in that “ticket frenzy” on E-Bay after all, sounds to me like Ed and Ed are going to very carefully explain that “they haven’t really got anything to tell us at all. Yet. But do watch this space!”

1 comments:

Graeme said...

it sounds like if I buy enough candyfloss then all is well in the world.