OH LOOK, ANOTHER TORY ANNOUNCEMENT

With apologies to the small band of regular readers, this blog has been sadly light on postings of late due mainly to the pressures of starting a new job, not to mention the perennial demands of family life. Perhaps the most telling comment may be that now we have entered the election campaign in all but name the politics is getting a bit less meaty and lurching more towards the trite.

Thus it was with Dave's pronouncements on the Tories' plans for future budgets should the unthinkable happen in May. He was at pains to assure us all that an incoming Tory government (image of George Osborne skipping into the Treasury with an abacus under his arm) would not implement swingeing cuts to threaten a nascent recovery. Instead they would work with the supposedly independent Bank of England to ensure that they could make nice comfortable cuts which no one would notice - or some such tosh. Interestingly, Dave's pronouncements got a sympathetic response from both Robert 'We're all Doomed!' Peston and Stephanie Flanders, both of whom pointed to the rather precarious position of the UK economy in the eyes of some important international outfits who mean little to us ordinary folks but who apparently have the power of life or death over the global economy.

Peston's piece contained perhaps the most striking point as he noted that our economy is being compared in some circles with that of Greece. Now that must hurt.

The good news is that there remains all to play for in May, assuming we survive that long as a functioning economy and that we don't end up selling ourselves to American soldiers in return for a cigarette...

The footnote with regard to the looming election comes from my wife who noted that the village hall has already been booked up for May 6th for the normal polling day operation, rather putting the lie to all the denials and double speak from the government.