As Ben Brogan notes, there was a clean symmetry to David Cameron’s speech this
morning: the crisis was Labour’s fault; therefore, Labour is to blame for the painful measures needed to restore stability. As Cameron put it:
‘I think people understand by now that the debt crisis is the legacy of the last government. But exactly the same applies to the action we will take to deal with it.’
Cameron made constant reference to the actions of the ‘previous government’. As a foretaste of what the Independent Office for Budget Responsibility will expose, Cameron alleged that Alistair Darling withheld estimates that Britain will be repaying £70bn per annum in debt interest by 2015. He gave exhaustive examples of the systemic incompetence and waste that Labour oversaw in the public sector. He condemned Brown’s deliberate squeeze on the private sector and his illusory boom based on a housing bubble, public and household debt and immigration.
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.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in