Labour must not suffer its own great depression

As George Osborne makes his welfare cuts, the response from the party does not necessitate a great lurch to the right

There is decency left in public life after all! In the course of an evening at the Mansion House in which he announced some bizarre budgetary targets, George Osborne found the time to pay a warm tribute to his long-time antagonist, former shadow chancellor Ed Balls. Not only that: there was spontaneous applause in honour of the man who, but for the unexpected result of the election, would have been standing in Osborne's place, unveiling a somewhat more appealing economic strategy.

As my dear friend the late Alan Watkins used to say: "Politics is a rough old trade." But I have noticed since the election that the dignitaries of the City of London are not alone in expressing, alas somewhat belatedly, their admiration for Mr Balls.

There has been much coverage about the Tories' 12bn of welfare cuts; rather less of the 8bn of tax cuts

Continue reading...