John Smith tried it in 1992 - and was rewarded with the blame for losing the election for Labour. So it took a bit of nerve for George Osborne to start the process of telling us what to expect from a Conservative Chancellor if we form the next Government. Pay freeze for millions, job cuts for many who work in the Civil Service and the regional quangos, an end to some tax credits, a delay in reaching pensionable age, etc.. Truth is that he did not have any real choice. To be elected next May without voters understanding the scale of the mess we are in, or the scale of pain needed to put it right would have been disastrous for the Conservative Party in the long run. Another uncomfortable truth is that what was announced today, will not be enough.
There was an air of seriousness amongst the audience. No triumphalist applause. A sense of general shock throughout the country as people begin to realise what's happening. If an opposition party, deeply committed to trying to win an election, feels it has no choice but say these things, the situation must be desperate. And it is. It strains belief that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor rushed out an announcement of a freeze in Civil service pay, simply in order to beat the Conservatives to it - breaking every convention about making major announcements during the Conference season. It's pathetic that he didn't have the b*** to make the announcement at his own Conference last week. Darling has suddenly realised that he and his Government are in danger of being swept away by a hurricane of truth.
Some of the commentators I've seen are awful. On BBC at lunchtime, we had Will Hutton spouting utter drivel. Andrew Neil couldn't seem to grasp the perfectly clear exposition of pension age policy by the ever outstanding Phillip Hammond. And then there was Jon Snow tonight with his puerile little jokes about a boy in a man's job. At least they didn't have the preposterous Kevin Maquire on. Perhaps he's being saved up for Newsnight. The gap between the leading media outlets and the general public grows ever wider. Personally, I expect the more thoughtful considered commentary of tomorrow will be rather more complimentary. Sure no-one likes the message, but its a whole lot better than the totally unbelievable stuff we heard from Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling last week.
Today we heard the speech of a man who knows that the people must be told the truth. For me, George Osborne judged it right - for both his country and his party. Just watch his star rise from now on.
5 comments:
Take three deep breaths Glyn!
'The worst is yet to come.'
The U.S. economy is still in for a rough ride.
President Ditherer is busy driving the US economy into dust.
No help whatsoever for the American small business sector - it's like he has a "WAG mentality"; more specifically, he has an ideology much like Rhodri Morgan that has no bearing on the steps needed to actually fix an economy that is tanking faster than an American Bald Eagle in a near vertical dive.
Sorry guys, but the great Obama has lost the plot.
Pray that China's economy will save the EU economy.
Start learning Chinese.
... and invest in some Au (chemical element symbol for Gold).
or in the alternative - contact me - I'm setting up "Gold IP". An IP holding company that for a minor stake in patents (circa 20-60% ownership) I will draft and file the patents.
There's a small firm just up the road from me in Virginia that has made 500 million or so from a group of patents that it bought - they sued the maker of the Blackberry and won a large settlement.
There's a LOT of smart IP out there - going a-begging.
See how Cardiff-based IQE has done! (I have no connection whatsoever with IQE).
I think Osborne was dreadful , he came over as an accounts clerk not a financial expert.
I think your party ahs not done well this week Glyn
Europe ,Cuts Mr Pickles and Boris J have done you no favours
Tcoah - I hope its not as bad as you predict. The US remains very important to the UK.
VM - Things look different depending on where you stand. Personally, I thought George Osborne got it spot on. He had no option but tell the voters what to expect of a Conservative Government. Anything else would have left us in deep trouble a few months into a new Parliament. His speech seems to have been well received in today's media - and well received by the city. I'm afraid I also thought the Lisbon Treaty issue was handled very well. And I thought Boris was good. He's not in the Shadow Cabinet, and does it very much his way. I thought his interview with Paxman was great. For what its worth, Mrs D thought it was awful! I missed out on what Mr Pickles has done. We are in 'wait and see' territory now. It will be interesting what the next lot of opinion polls tell us.
Tcoah, either take a deep breath, or even better listen to real people and not the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. Paul Krugman at least says that the economy is getting worse at a slower rate. Whilst Chairman Bernanke announced that the US is out of recession. The trouble with small business is that they tend not to prepared for recessions.
Also IP is not devolved to the WAG so I don't quite understand your harping on about it?
Jim> sorry a bit late, just read your reply. IP is not per se devolved - but in the wider sense IP is very much devolved - since the WAG has 'spending power' (via the HEFCW) and so can direct money to research projects where senior researchers are willing to file a patent.
Welsh discoveries/inventions are not IP absent getting a patent, and the first step is filing a patent application.
Indeed, I would say if money is tight the best place to file a patent is not at the UK patent office in Newport (Wales), but for about the same amount of money file at the United States Patent Office which covers 50 states of the Union - because guess what: protecting IP is not limited to one country, but if money is tight, might as well file in the largest market for patented goods and services: at the US patent office.
If foreign patent protection is required beyond the shores of the USA, that can be satisfied by filing a PCT patent application - but this will mean setting up, e.g., a holding company in the USA (e.g., a private patent holding company in DE, Delaware), the cost is not high and then Welsh universities can file directly both patents at the USPTO and PCT applications at the USPTO via the PCT RO (Receiving Office) at the USPTO (a PCT should be filed no later than one year after the earliest effective patent filing date in order to claim priority). In the alternative, a PCT application can be filed first and a national phase application (under 35 U.S.C. 371).
I have offered (to WAG) screening Welsh university publications in learned journals and where appropriate file a provisional patent application (or non-provisional, depending on circumstances) directly at the USPTO.
There is a rule in the UK/EU - published IP is 'burned', whereas in the USA published IP can be filed as a patent application providing the publication is not more than one year old. It's called the "12 month grace period". Such "IP" evaporates immediately on publication as far as the UK and EU is concerned, but in the USA 'you' can still file up to one year after publication.
Just think about that. A big breakthrough in hi-tech by a Welsh research team but published can still be worth something if it is converted, e.g., into a provisional patent application filing in the USA.
I have a proposal for generating jobs in Wales based on screening Welsh research publications (funded by HEFCW) as provisional applications (or non-provisional utility applications if appropriate) to boost Welsh IP and generate jobs back in Wales.
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