Don't stop spending, Brown tells Europe
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Gordon Brown has urged the world's major economies not to take their foot off the spending pedal, saying that "going for growth" could protect vital public services from cuts.
Speaking at an Anglo-French summit in Evian yesterday, the Prime Minister said: "If we can get growth, if we can get unemployment down, if we can keep interest rates and inflation down, then there is scope to do the things we want to do, and that is to get money to the frontline services."
But Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, became the latest member of the Cabinet to raise the prospect of spending cuts after the general election. Although aides insisted he was not contradicting Mr Brown, Mr Hain said: "Once we emerge from recession, it is fair to state that a slower growth of public spending will be the best strategy. The next 10 years cannot be the same as Labour's past 10 years of record investment in our schools and hospitals spending. We will need patience as well as prudence. It will mean being tough on priorities and going hard for efficiency. But such sensible Labour prudence over the medium term is quite different from Tory slash-and-burn starting now."
Downing Street and the Treasury sought to calm trade union fears of a pay freeze for six million public sector workers. The Chancellor declined to rule out such a move on Sunday, but No 10 has said the Government would not dismantle the three-year deals for groups including teachers.
Mr Brown is worried that economic recovery in Britain could stall unless other nations, particularly European countries, continue to take action to stimulate a return to growth. He will take his "go for growth" message to the G8 summit of the world's leading economies in Italy starting tomorrow.
Yesterday, the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, echoed the Prime Minister's comments about the need to ensure a return to growth as the two leaders heaped praise on each other. "Of course we need to combat indebtedness and try to restrain deficit, but we will only achieve that if we restore growth and if we restore our economies to health," M. Sarkozy said. Mr Brown told his host: "President Sarkozy, mon ami, you are truly a force of nature."
Britain promised £15m to tighten borders in French ports where hundreds of would-be migrants gather in the hope of smuggling themselves into the UK. Searches of vehicles and goods heading for Britain will be stepped up. M. Sarkozy pledged to return more illegal immigrants to their home countries.
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Comments
Brown is a compulsive liar who is acting on behalf of international money-lenders, trying to re-inflate fraudulent speculative bubble markets, and anyone who believes a word he says is a fool.
Hokay buddy then we save and you steal. He he he he he you liear laiar layers lowesr laweser liers sh*** I cant get the right word to tell he steals from us all poor, very poor, very, very poor and trains tickets go up, up, up and he wants to spend, spend. USA sends trains to Afghanistan via Russia so Islamist imams dies. Obama is Muslim no? Sarkozy gets more legroom. Italian gets more small, small, small girls. We spend pay tax. Maddoff runs away.
Mr. Brown. There is a plot to blow you in the 10 and 11 Drowning Street Read today?s papers .Please step on the ship very carefully. The Russians and Obama had the breakfast and sealed the deal. You are alone, alone all alone and your VISICALC. Brown will argue that rising oil prices and constrained bank lending remain threats to recovery and world leaders need to step up the fight against protectionism.
"The need for coordinated international action to implement the decisions we have taken has never been more crucial," Brown will say. wil will wull will will heek I It will take dynamite to remove Gordon Brown from No 10
Brown's problems are communications, leadership and team management not economics. History will be generous to him on that.
Still I dont expect that will stop people from voting in the boy David and his motley crew at the next election, and please dont say "he couldn't do any worse" because clearly he has already decided to viciously cut away at public services which in most cases are already stretched to the limit. Then we'll see what unemployment and recession really looks like God help us.
Brown is a lying fool.
All Nu Liebour MP's are liars and anyone thinking of voting Nu Liebour at the next general election needs their head tested.
Everything Nu Labour have done in the last twelve years has proved to be a total failure. Hundreds of thousands have needlessly died in our hospitals due to Nu Liebour policies. Our education system has been dumbed down to give passes to complete idiots.
Our police service is all but none existent.
Our legal system has it's hands tied.
Our armed forces are in a Nu Liebour war, Nu Liebour are unwilling to fund.
Nu Liebour are a complete and utter failure and Brown, after being "personally" responsible for our bankruptcy, wants us to borrow more and spend more.
The man is an IDIOT!!!
Ultimately the cost has been/will be dispersed amongst us all; yes in any given scenario there are winners and losers; unfortunately for Gordon hes left too many people thinking irrespective of ideology I will be better off with the other lot; Labour has learned too late that the middle ground is extremely fickle and vote with their wallets; at the same time alienating large swaths of "traditional" support.
Furthermore simply spouting nonsence at PMQs "0%" etc rather than having the courage of his convictions and telling it straight with the same gusto he pranced about the world stage last year means his credibility is in question; he believes what hes doing but he doesn't beieve we will either understand or agree and therefore opts for spin rather than fact
In short He doesn't trust me and I don't trust him
PR Dave (if he gets in at all) gets in by default only.
Why should the bloated (by Bair/Brown/Labour) public sector, get support when the private sector is left to suffer (and has to compensate for the mess). Doesn't Brown know where the money that pays the for the public sector comes from? Probably not.
And to "richardjeff":
Brown is a major architect in this 'crisis', due to his relaxations in the banking industry in the early 2000's thereby facilitating or 'importing' the dodgy American banking methods to London, just when the Americans tried to 'clean up' banking a bit in the States. London has played a part in this. Congratulations Brown. This is what he will go down as in history.
We must get rid of this Embarrassment (Labour) before all is lost. Another gangster, Blair is still roaming free, I heard him on the radio the other day, he pretty guilty to. Can we justice soon please? Thanks.
MT == Big Bang.
New Labour was just continuing Conservative policies, tragically.
So, we hav e the choice between real wreckers (Conservative) and the copiers (New Labour).
Thank heavens there are the Lib Dems.
The Labour party, especially the NU Labour hacks are a bunch Public Relation Bloaters and this great country needs to be freed of them Immediately!
But - what exactly have the Conservatives 'Done' to deserve any better? Answer: Not Much at all, they must be 'sunk' as well to clear the water. What a name is that anyway? Conservative = backward looking, retrograde, head stuck in the sand, unadventurous, conformist etc, the embarrassing list goes on. And we still remember the 'slaughter' infested on Britain the last time they have been in 'power', the country is still reeling from that.
You have record consumer debt ,record govt debt(after recession) companies bought on debt(buy outs)
companies built on debt(PFI)
Second what did you do with all the money ?
And he plans to do this with more spending? Increasing the public debt and creating inflationary pressures?
It's time for an election.
The whole concept is ludicrous and the desperate last throw of a terminal Labour PM.
Cut spending whilst maintaining services as best you can. Minimize waste, stop unnecessary military spending (Trident, etc) and close down quangos.
Similarly with growth. What on earth makes him think that the UK can go on growing to help him out while we and the rest of the world are using up the oil and forcing up its price and the Chinese and Indians have taken over our manufacturing role and are doing it much better? Is he still thinking of selling financial services? Do us a favour! La la la...
[Probably he cannot drive a calculator.]