Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Labour prepares for the worst (good news on the economy)

Whether or not he did accidentally suggest that he knew what tomorrow’s GDP figures will be at Prime Minister’s Questions, David Cameron did have a jolly good point about the way Labour responds to good news on the economy. He told Ed Miliband:

‘It’s only a bad week if you think it’s bad that unemployment’s coming down, it’s only a bad week if you regret inflation coming down… every piece of good news sends that team into a complete decline, well, I can tell him, the good news will keep on coming.’

As Fraser blogged at the weekend, Ed Miliband’s strategy is predicated on the government continually cocking up. It’s not a bad way to work when the Number 10 machine definitely needs an MOT at the very least, but this approach will only have longevity if the next few months bring bad news on the really big issues, as well as those continual hiccups on policy announcements and rows about the behaviour of senior Tory figures.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in