I learnt two important things yesterday in the debate on the Queen’s Speech. The Prime Minister is an up to date reader of this blog. Unfortunately he does not seem to understand it.
I ask my other readers to allow me to make just a few things clear to our PM thirsting for knowledge from the wonderful world of the web.
1. The main point of most of the posts on this site for the last couple of years has been to advocate more freedom and higher living standards for the UK.
2. The last thing I want is lower living standards or a downturn.My posts explaining that we are now living through a sharp downturn in living standards is describing the results of the PM’s economic policy and banking crisis, not describing what I want or what would have happened if he had taken better advice.
3. In 2007 I offered advice which if taken could have avoided the run on the Rock. I then offered advice after the run which could have avoided the need for nationalised ownership and the big cuts in the business which followed.
4. A year ago I offered advice to cut interest rates substantially, which if followed could have avoided some of the severity of the downturn we are now entering.
5. My advice- offered by others as well – on more liquidity to money and banking markets was taken too late, and my advice on interest rates was followed months too late.
My advice now, just to remind him is:
1. Don’t cut VAT. It gives very poor value for all the borrowing.
2. Start selling assets off from the nationalised banks, to reduce taxpayer risk and to cut borrowing.
3. Then cut interest rates further.
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College, and has a DPhil from All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has been a director of NM Rothschild merchant bank and chairman of a quoted industrial PLC.
23 Comments
Don’t be flattered by the knowledge that your blog is attracting Brown’s attention. Far from his wishing to read and follow any of your advice his motives will be quite malign.
Nulabor’s 24/7 IT pa’troll’ers monitor all forums (at taxpayers expense). Opinions considered to be a threat always result in mass attendance for ‘rebuttal’.
…and, Mr Brown, if I might add my two’pennorth, cut Government spending as well.
Hi Gordon,
Since you’re dishing money around left, right and centre, how come you never raise the repayment threshold on student loans like you do the tax thresholds and your tax credits?
Your PBR did nothing for me or any other single twenty-something renter on average income so all next year I’m hoarding every penny I can.
Merry Xmas to you, Mrs Brown and the kids.
Regards,
StevenL
Did he Read Lisbon before signing it,
most didn’t.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml%3Bjsessionid%3D2V4OJ542O2YSDQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/20/nbooker120.xml
Death Penalty for civil unrest hidden in a footnote of a footnote.
Presumably for when the Proletariat realise that we are now merely a province of their EUSSR.
http://secretperson.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/the-eu-reintroduces-death-penalty-full-details/
we already have it in the (unfortunate death of the Brazilian-ed)
but without, trial, without investigation
look at De Menezes
no human rights for him.
just the convicted terrorists/criminals get human rights.
it was probably authorised for the arrest of terrorist Green
Dear Mr. Brown (if you are reading this),
In the longer term, assuming Labour can keep winning elections, how will you resolve the national debt?
It seems to me the choice is basically more tax or less spending. I don’t think the public will is there for more tax and the economy can’t handle it. I don’t think the Labour party is ideologically capable of spending less.
What everyone is saying seems to me to be this:
“If only, Mr Brown, you would listen to commonsense!”
But, no, instead he is out to win an election: the great economist knows better than anyone else. And – be honest – his chances are actually improving.
And let there be no mistake: if he wins, we can probably look forward to Icelandic melt-down.
A hopeful note: quite a lot of Tax Offices (full of bureaucrats?) were closed in our “Eastern Region” today, involving a lot of (government?) jobs. A man in a toupe appeared, though, to tell us that it was a “consolidation” with fewer and better centralised offices set to replace smaller inefficient ones………
Let’s put it this way, its his and Mandelson’s spin that is trying to win the election. I was feeling like you a few days ago that their chances, most surprisingly were looking better. However when you get a poll one day showing Tories 11 points ahead and another the very next day showing only 1 you start to realise that these polls become a nonsense. But I am now thinking that the tide is turning as the Economists are very gradually starting to speak out. Yesterday we had a Directror from the Institute of Business, or something similar -(sorry so many I forget!), talking on Channel 4 on what’s gone wrong and another useful person is Fraser Nelson. Even looking at Question Time on Thursday from N.Ireland, it was interesting to see the responses from the audience and the panel, though not, of course Alan Johnston. How sad I have become is that I avidly read all the Political Comments online and more and more are now speaking out that Brown’s tenure is indeed coming home to roost.
He might not be following the advice on your blog, but on the plus side that means, while reading it, he’s distracted from buying another overpriced bank to add to his portfolio of brands
Brown mentions comments from your blog and The Daily Mail run a story on it. Coincidence? (Obviously I’m not expecting you to reply)
Watching News Night tonight, the report by Robert Preston seemed to me to be saying that JR has got it right. So perhaps someone is listening!
For Robert Preston read Paul Mason.
Check your logs of reader’s IP addresses. When the PM’s office reads your blog it’s quite clear because a lookup shows “Prime Minister’s Office”. I know this to be true from experience. I bet if you check your logs you’ll find you’re mistaken on both accounts (that he reads it but doesn’t understand it). Remember “the surest cure for vanity is loneliness”!
Reply: I know he reads it because he refers to it in the House. Or are you suggesting he quotes from and comments on things he hasn’t read?
I fully understand why people would like to borrow at 2% but I cannot understand why anyone would want to lend money at that rate.
If they wanted to properly help people and business they should pull back from the ridiculous carbon taxes which have recently pulled in £54 million via the energy companies and our energy bills with billions more to come in the future. Has anyone looked out of the window lately and seen the effects of CO2?
Reducing energy cost would benefit everyone whereas low interest rates punish the thrifty and reward the profligate.
I wouldn’t worry too much Stuart, Brown probably thinks an ISP is an “Instant Supply of Popularity” so you’ll be safe as long as we have him as PM as obviously he omitted to tell us he was dyslexic ‘when he didn’t ask us to vote for him’ .
I’m glad to hear that JR but when everyone piled out of the commons and the place looked like there were only 3 individuals left in it including the Speaker, I went for tea.
Sorry I missed it.
“The excuse is that our exports will be cheaper, what exports?”
Exactly right. What this crisis demonstrates is the need for a viable export capacity, to ensure that our economy can still grow when domestic demand is oversupplied or slack. The shift to a top-heavy service-sector economy has disabled our major export turbo, namely, manufacturing. A nation with the population of our size needs the safety-valve of exports, not only to balance the economy, but also to create the million plus jobs needed to reduce the huge numbers on welfare.
Read it again … you have to nail them with a sound bite at times like these. By the time you’d got your reply in ~ the chamber had cleared .. we turned the tv back to cnbc after brown finished .. probably like the rest of the country. brown had gone.
Mr. John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): Will the Prime Minister re-examine the £487 billion banking package, because surely he shares our disappointment that more lending is not taking place to decent businesses in our country?
The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman signed the report that said that we should give up regulation in mortgage finance. I criticised a Conservative Member last week for saying that the recession should take its course, but what the right hon. Gentleman said yesterday on his website is even more amazing:
“Living standards in both the public and private sector have to be brought down.”
That is the Conservative party’s answer to the problems that we face, not taking the necessary action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Own Goal ….. what’s the point in asking him if he’s dissappointed banks are not lending …. of course he is ~ that’s why he passed legislation to force them to lend. thats why he’s telling them they have to lend .. and have to allow mortgage defaulters time to resolve their financial issues (which they pretty much do anyway).
he scores a point off you on regulation ~ even though nulab made the terrible decision to shift all (mm/banking) regulation to the fsa.
and if you’re trying to say £487bn is alot of debt for not much return … then say it .. and ask how it will be paid back. and how better to spend £487bn / or why its unnecessary.
they are mismanaging & over managing & laying problems for the future …. you have to use every opportunity to make this message clear ~ and the electorate sort of know it/but also hope that throwing money at it will avoid the worse of it.
Before these televised key speaches, prepare 10 questions for back benchers to ask.
Reply: I always ask my own questions – asking someone else’s question could leave you ill equipped to handle what happens next. I did ask if he would re-examine his banking package – I did not ask if he shared my disappointment which would obviously be a weak question. The fact that he did not wish to answer it shows it was a good question. It is now a question that is being put forcefully by the Shadow Chancellor, I heard today.
6. Let the markets decide whatever the outcome?
The manufacturing jobs are not going to happen. It requires investment, a product at a price people will pay, a market and light if any regulation. The amount of regulation now has killed that sort of activity, gee, thanks EU and our politicians, grand job. They are incapable of making any thing themselves and make sure that no one else can.
Derek
Read a book Huh? Check this one out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago
By penguin books no less. This is mind blowing.
For socialists, anyone who can give their failed economics policies a few years of success will, predictably, be hailed as a god.
does not know what he is doing