Where was Andrew Dilnot in the Gordon Brown era? The head of the UK Statistics Authority has just rebuked the Prime Minister for telling porkies about debt on his ITV broadcast last week. CoffeeHousers will remember that the PM made the flatly untrue claim that:
‘though this government has had to make some difficult decisions, we are making progress. We’re paying down Britain’s debts.’
The truth is that his government will increase Britain’s debt by 58 per cent, and by more over five years than Labour did over 13 years. Just last week, we learned the national debt had hit £1,111 billion and it’s heading to £1,534 billion. Put this into perspective: the Libya campaign cost £200 million. The national debt has risen by more than that today so far, and it’s only lunchtime.
Dilnot’s letter, sent to Labour’s Rachel Reeves (who lodged the complaint) and pointedly copied to Cameron’s Chief of Staff, reads as follows:
‘It is clearly important for all parties to public debate in this area to understand the relevant statistical definitions and to distinguish changes in the level of debt outstanding from changes in borrowing per period, and to reflect these in their communication of the statistical trends involved.
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