Does anyone expect the Tories to actually campaign on anything positive? It will be more fear and scare tactics with added flag-waving faux patriotism.

Well I think Simon's head is large; always involved in espionage. (Name that tune)

A quick look at the economic evidence reveals that only two Labour governments have ever left office leaving the national debt higher as a percentage of GDP than it was when they came to power, and all of the others have lowered it as a percentage of GDP.

On the two occasions that Labour oversaw increases in the national debt as a percentage of GDP there were the mitigating circumstances of huge global financial crises. The Ramsay MacDonald government of 1929-31 coincided with global fallout from the Wall Street Crash (they left a 12% increase in the debt to GDP ratio), and the last few years of the Blair-Brown government of 1997-2010 coincided with the 2008 financial sector insolvency crisis (they left an 11% increase). The other Labour governments all reduced the scale of the national debt, Clement Attlee's government of 1945-51 reduced the national debt by 40% of GDP despite having to rebuild the UK economy from the ruins of the Second World War; Harold Wilson's 1964-70 government reduced the national debt by 27% of GDP; and even the Wilson-Callaghan government of 1974-79 managed to reduce the debt by 4% of GDP.

The majority of Labour governments have ended up reducing the national debt, and the two that didn't happened to coincide with the biggest global financial crisis of the 20th Century and the biggest global financial crisis so far in the 21st Century.

Edited by nickgusset (18 Apr 2017 7.36pm)

That's what the SNP will do but it's ok because the SNP are 'progressive'.

Edited by matt_himself (18 Apr 2017 8.06pm)

"That was fun and to round off the day, I am off to steal a charity collection box and then desecrate a place of worship.” - Smokey, The Selhurst Arms, 26/02/02

Seems the link between cps prosecutions for electoral fraud and calling of a GE is growing stronger.

[Tweet Link]

May doesn't want to face 25 by elections.

Twice now you've completely ignored the link I've made between electoral fraud prosecutions, by elections and the calling of a GE (despite the fact that May was adamant that there wouldn't be an early one) and posted some random labour jibe. Do you not know how to argue a point?

You are missing the point. May (and who can blame her) doesn't want to have to fight twenty+ by elections on the back of having mp's disqualified because of fraud.
Call a GE and the problem (notwithstanding any action the cps takes - if it is deemed in the public interest) goes away.

I hope someone brings this up in PMQ's tomorrow.