The Economy Plummets, Labour Triangulates

For a neat summation of why New Labour has been such an unmitigated disaster for this country, read Spencer Livermore’s article in today’s Guardian. The man who was Brown’s senior strategy advisor from 1997 to 2008 perfectly encapsulates the Government’s primarily failing; they are, and always have been, focused on gaining and retaining power ahead of driving our country forward.

Livermore’s panacea for the Government’s ills is to “make the case that the Conservatives remain unreformed, that they remain a threat to Britain's families, their future prosperity and their public services.” One would have thought that Downing Street should be focusing on helping homeowners, fighting the surge in serious crime, curbing inflation and addressing the widening poverty gap. But apparently all they need do is “ensure that the issue at the next election is whether the Tories have changed enough to be trusted.”

Unfortunately for Labour, and Mr. Livermore, it is the Government that is perceived to be the threat, and with good reason. They have wasted billions on pet projects, quangos and unreformed public services, funded by a raid on our pensions and pockets, and a level of debt we shall be servicing long after this Government has stopped twitching. Their state-first approach has failed miserably, and no amount of spinning or triangulation can save them.