George Osborne MP

[Berberis]

Then why is Osborne about to make several of his powerful friends extremely rich by selling it off cheap?

 

How much do you think its worth?

[Anna B]

Even if we sell it for tuppence, we'll never be able to buy it back.

Another vital British asset (and name) lost for ever.

[Vague_Boy]

If you want someone to blame, blame Gordon Brown.

 

Always good advice.

 

Crash Gordon was running record deficits in 2006, before the financial crisis hit. [LINK]

 

So, in a time of (so-called) growth and prosperity, he was already running record deficits, so when trouble loomed, the nation's finances were most certainly not '"well-placed" to withstand the global financial turbulence' as Brown claimed.

[poppet2]

Always good advice.

 

Crash Gordon was running record deficits in 2006, before the financial crisis hit. [LINK]

 

So, in a time of (so-called) growth and prosperity, he was already running record deficits, so when trouble loomed, the nation's finances were most certainly not '"well-placed" to withstand the global financial turbulence' as Brown claimed.

 

What do you expect when the USA dragged us into the Iraq war. that's where the money went, oh and later remind me how much we forked out to bail out the banks?

[El Cid]

 

Crash Gordon was running record deficits in 2006, before the financial crisis hit. [LINK]

 

 

United Kingdom Government debt(2006) as a percentage of GDP = 42.7%

 

That compares to 90% in 2013; is Vague_Boy know for inventing 'facts'?

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uk+government+debt+2006&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=13F7VZahIcLC7Abtz4PIDg

[loraward]

United Kingdom Government debt(2006) as a percentage of GDP = 42.7%

 

That compares to 90% in 2013; is Vague_Boy know for inventing 'facts'?

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uk+government+debt+2006&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=13F7VZahIcLC7Abtz4PIDg

 

Vague_Boy's link doesn't work for me but this one confirms what he said.

 

UK budget deficit hits new record.

20 June 2006

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5097706.stm

 

---------- Post added 13-06-2015 at 07:51 ----------

 

What do you expect when the USA dragged us into the Iraq war. that's where the money went, oh and later remind me how much we forked out to bail out the banks?

 

Don't forget that the previous government had also spent money on 3 wars, Falklands war, Gulf war and Bosnian war.

 

If our armed forces are not fighting a war with someone, they are exercising, so still getting paid, using equipment and weapons which costs money.

[Bonzo77]

How much do you think its worth?

 

Erm, somewhere closer to what the tax payer paid for it? I'm aware a loss looks inevitable, but £13bn??

[El Cid]

 

Vague_Boy's link doesn't work for me but this one confirms what he said.

 

UK budget deficit hits new record. 20 June 2006

 

The UK national debt is often confused (even by politicians) with the Government budget deficit.

 

By historic standards, the national debt is large and growing rapidly, unlike the deficit which is declining.

 

---------- Post added 13-06-2015 at 08:51 ----------

 

A quote from "The Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It is politically independent and produces both academic and policy-related findings."

 

By 2007 Labour had reduced public sector borrowing slightly below the level it inherited from the Conservatives. And more of that borrowing was being used to finance investment rather than the day-to-day running costs of the public sector.

Labour had also reduced public sector debt below the level it had inherited. As a result the ‘golden rule’ and ‘sustainable investment rule’ that Gordon Brown had committed himself to on becoming Chancellor in 1997 were both met over the economic cycle that he eventually decided had run from 1997–98 to 2006–07

 

http://www.ifs.org.uk/bns/bn93.pdf

Edited June 13, 2015 by El Cid

[loraward]

The UK national debt is often confused (even by politicians) with the Government budget deficit.

 

By historic standards, the national debt is large and growing rapidly, unlike the deficit which is declining.

 

---------- Post added 13-06-2015 at 08:51 ----------

 

A quote from "The Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It is politically independent and produces both academic and policy-related findings."

 

By 2007 Labour had reduced public sector borrowing slightly below the level it inherited from the Conservatives. And more of that borrowing was being used to finance investment rather than the day-to-day running costs of the public sector.

Labour had also reduced public sector debt below the level it had inherited. As a result the ‘golden rule’ and ‘sustainable investment rule’ that Gordon Brown had committed himself to on becoming Chancellor in 1997 were both met over the economic cycle that he eventually decided had run from 1997–98 to 2006–07

 

http://www.ifs.org.uk/bns/bn93.pdf

 

Also from that link.

 

When Labour took office in 1997, the public finances were already starting to

improve following the deterioration seen during the recession of the early 1990s , thanks to the substantial tax increases and cuts to public spending implemented by the previous Conservative government since 1993.

 

But over the same ten years the vast majority of other leading

industrial countries reduced their borrowing by more than the UK. And most also reduced their debt by more. So while the UK public finances were in better shape when the financial crisis began than they were when Labour came to power, the UK was in a worse position relative to most comparable countries.



The financial crisis and the associated recession subsequently saw public sector net borrowing balloon to levels not seen since the Second World War–

and far higher than was seen in the latter years of the Conservative overnment, including during the aftermath of the 1990 –92 recession

(when the previous post Second World War high borrowing occurred)

[Jeffrey Shaw]

As we are constantly reminded share values can go down as well as up. There is also a cost for retaining the "investment" in the price of financing government debt. If the value of the shares is not increasing at a higher rate than the interest rate of the borrowing then in makes no sense to hold on. The stock market has recovered by 30% since it hit the buffers. If these shares haven't matched the market it is a sick bank.

 

Just think. For every billion they get from the sale they can reduce the cuts in spending by the same amount.

A good post!