Monday, April 18, 2005

A collective raspberry

The financial markets are giving one of their customary raspberries to Gordon "No return to Conservative boom and bust" Brown. Stocks in the UK are down 2% today as global financial markets wobble on fears of weaker global economic growth. Vote Labour and you will banish these economic demons!!

It all seems to reinforce my view that 2006 could be quite a troublesome year for the UK economy regardless of who has the reins. If the Conservatives do win the election - a longshot I know - it could easily become a pyrrhic victory as they are given the poisonend chalice of increased government spending, a slowing economy and falling tax revenues with a faltering world economy too. How Labour will gloat that within months of a Tory victory, the economy hit the buffers just as they said it would, conveniently ignoring the failings of their own economic policies and the two year lag before such policies impact the real economy.

Meanwhile, I thought I had heard all possible explanations for a slowing housing market, but clearly not. The latest reason is doubt over the results of the General Election!! How can that be? I don't recall any house price jitters in 1997 or 2001 caused by the election. Perhaps it masks a more valid reason, house prices are incredibly overvalued and buyers are starting to wake up to this.

5 comments:

Serf said...

As a Conservative supporter, I dearly wish for a much reduced Labour government rather than a Tory win.

It will give time for:

1) Gordon's terrible policies to rebound on the man that created them.
2) Constituency boundaries to be redrawn.
3) Even the most stupid person will realise that the NHS, Education etc are black holes.
4) Everyone will finally understand that Gordon Brown is an idiot. A very lucky one, but an idiot none the less.

Then in the next election the Tories can actually win a solid majority, where they can actually change a few things.

It all depends on Blair just about winning.

Anonymous said...

I agree with EU-surf. I want the Labour party to win, narrowly enough to get Blair out and Brown in. Too little a majority, Brown can do nothing and the people will blame the Tories for opposing for opposition's sake. Too much and Brown will not get power soon enough to show his true potential to stuff things up - he will stilll be in his period of grace. It's a fine balance :(

Brown was quite a sly chap - he has resided over quite a good economy, by not changing anything from the Tory economic policy and letting the BOE do their own thing. He is a chancellor that did nothing and got all the glory. What a git.

Snafu said...

I'm not sure I want Brown in and Blair out!! I think Brown has quite left wing tendencies that he manages to suppress whilst working with Tony. The left of the Labour party could easily play up to his hidden agenda should he become Prime Minister. Who would become his Chancellor though?

Anonymous said...

I agree with EU-serf in the sense that Brown's economic madness will bounce back in our national economic performance. The problem is that even one more day of these constitutional vandals in power sickens me to the core. As for whoever becomes Chancellor - they will cop the horrendous results of Brown's socialist stupidity

Snafu said...

The FT reported yesterday that Britain's competitiveness has worsened since Labour came to office in '97. This hardly bodes well for Britain's economy in the future. "Killing the goose that laid the golden egg" comes to mind.