If you want to know what British politics will sound like in 2011, then just read
David Cameron’s and Ed Miliband’s New Year messages one after the other. They share a lot of the same words, but bounce along to different, if familiar, drumbeats. According to Cameron, next year will be “very
difficult,” due to the effort of “putting our economy … on the right path”. According to Miliband, next year will be more difficult than it needs to be, due to “the
decision taken to reduce the deficit at what I believe to be an irresponsible pace and scale.” In other words, cuts versus fewer cuts. Just like 2010 all over again.
Cameron’s message veers furthest away from the public finances, with a warning about the present and persistent threat of Islamic terror. But, as if to underline that the economy will dominate political discourse in 2011 just as it did in 2010, Alan Johnson has popped
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