How Humphrys got it wrong

The 8.10 Today programme slot this morning went to Nick Clegg. The programme wanted to discuss with the deputy PM the BBC’s finding that those areas most dependent on the state would be hit hardest by the coming cuts, for some reason this statement of the obvious is regarded as news. But John Humphrys, in his haste to interrupt the deputy PM, made some statements deserving of further scrutiny.
 
First, Humphrys suggested that the cuts will take place before Christmas. They won’t. Unlike the cuts announced in the immediate aftermath of the election, these are not in-year cuts.
 
Next, Humphrys claimed that the economy is at ‘stall-speed.’ But growth in the second quarter was 1.2 percent, perfectly respectable and the fastest quarterly growth rate that we’ve seen in more than eight years.
 
But beyond these quibbles there’s a more fundamental problem with the assumption underlying Humphrys’ questions.