Sadly?, surely mainstream opinion has always been that was Browns greatest achievement.
Tax rises and the Autumn statement
- Thread starter JohnD
- Start date
Sadly?, surely mainstream opinion has always been that was Browns greatest achievement.
He wanted control over monetary policy, then blamed tne rest of the world for inflation, collapse of the banks, etc. Sad self centred and with hindsight stupid.
Blup
I don’t quite understand what you mean when you say Brown “blamed the rest of the world for inflation, collapse of the banks”
Are you suggesting that the UK crash in 2008 wasn’t as a result of the rest of the world…..it was called the “global financial crash”
Your opinion seems at odds with many others:
”The weekend Gordon Brown saved the banks from the abyss”
The weekend Gordon Brown saved the banks from the abyss
The Prime Minister's leadership qualities were to the fore on the weekend in October 2008 when financial calamity was so close
www.theguardian.com
It was Gordon Brown who organised the meetings to get banks worldwide to co-operate on a series of measures to prevent total collapse and a means of recovery.
FillyBilly's being economical with the truth. Again.
FillyBilly's being economical with the truth. Again.
Was it Brown who prevented Blair pursuing it then? -I’ve no idea
it would’ve been bl@@dy madness to adopt the Euro….the UK was one a major economy in the EU and by being outside the Eurozone gave it great flexibility.
I remember there was a period when lots of price labels in shops in the U.K. started having the Euro printed on them…used to make me worried.
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He can’t have his cake and eat it, membership of the euro by that logic would have made no difference.I don’t quite understand what you mean when you say Brown “blamed the rest of the world for inflation, collapse of the banks”
Are you suggesting that the UK crash in 2008 wasn’t as a result of the rest of the world…..it was called the “global financial crash”
Your opinion seems at odds with many others:
”The weekend Gordon Brown saved the banks from the abyss”
The weekend Gordon Brown saved the banks from the abyss
The Prime Minister's leadership qualities were to the fore on the weekend in October 2008 when financial calamity was so close
Blup
Don't be stupid, even if it does become you.
So are you suggesting that Saddam's support for the Palestinians was another umentioned motivation for the Iraq war.
Thanks for the suggestion.
It's a good job Iran is better prepared for war otherwise USA might fancy another middle east war under false pretences.
You're obviously intent on being stupid, and abusive with it.
But stupidity is no excuse for abuse.
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what do you mean by “that logic”
what do you mean by “he can’t have his cake and eat it”
The Blair govt promised an assessment of whether the UK met his five tests for entry into the single currency within two years of the 2001 election. The treasury assessment failed 4 of the 5 tests and the idea to join the Euro was dropped.
I think it was Brown's tests, not the Blair government.
He reckons he was prepared to resign over the issue, in his new book.
The exchange rate at the time was about 1GBP to 1.45 Euro.
Now it's about 1:1.14
The logic that justifies staying out of the euro to control monetary policy versus the logic that blames the world economy when labour economic policies made our economy suffer much more when the banks went bust
Blup
Can you show us the evidence leading you to that opinion?
The impossibility of meeting the five economic tests unless Brown thought they were achievable which was never. It is well documented that GB blamed the banking crisis on the world economic conditions, when it was our lax policy on banking that made our position much worse than other european countries. He painted himself as a victim of misinformation about the state of the city and the banks when his approach encouraged a light touch regulatory system. His power and influence as chancellor would have been much reduced if we had been in the euro. It was quite simply about his control freakery.
Blup
And you claim he was wrong?
How did he cause Lehmans to collapse? How did he cause American banks to lend money to people who couldn't pay it back? How did he cause American investors to buy overpriced and worthless schemes? How did he make Bear Stearns insolvent? How did he cause the US Congress to pass banking laws encouraging reckless lending, and to repeal parts of the Glass-Steagall Act?
Show me your evidence.
Browns reason for not wanting to join the Euro was not to control monetary policy
Im not sure what Labour economic policies led to the UK economy to suffer much more
Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Portugal all suffered a greater hit to gdp over 2007-11 period
well thats what caused it
stronger banking regulations would not have prevented the crisis in the UK
It may have reduced the impact, but to what extent is difficult to know -its a counterfactual to claim it would have protected UK significantly