 John Sergeant's exit from Strictly has provided light relief at Westminster |
Hello again... If there's one thing more frightening than the sight of my old colleague, John Sergeant, dragging his dancing partner across the floor on Strictly Come Dancing, it's the depth of the current economic crisis. Bumping into politicians this week around Westminster - all they wanted to talk about was Sergey and his dramatic exit from the world of spangled frocks and the cha-cha-cha. But you can see the worry in their eyes. And pretty quick, they were bidding their farewell and shooting off to deal with the world of falling sales, housing repossessions and failing businesses.  The government looks set to announce tax cuts to stimulate the economy - but at what cost? |
On Monday, the government will present its Pre Budget Report to the House of Commons. The word on the street is that the Chancellor will announce huge tax cuts - just in time for Christmas - in order to stimulate demand on the high street. But he'll have to borrow the money to do it. And that's where the Conservatives have a problem. For decades, the Tories have been the party espousing tax cuts. But they don't like mortgaging the future to do so. This week, they took a huge political step. For the first time, they confirmed they would rein in future government spending to pay for all this. And in an instant, the battle lines for the next General Election were set.  The Conservatives say tax cuts should be permanent and future Government spending should be restrained |
If a giant fiscal stimulus works, Gordon Brown will be the political equivalent of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers all rolled into one. If it doesn't, David Cameron will say that the government is to economic competence what John Sergeant is to the Paso Doble. I think I can promise you a very key player will be joining us on the dancefloor on Sunday. And that's not all...  Politics Max - with politics down your street... |
Max Cotton's been to the vineyards of Southern France to meet British pensioners who claim they should get a Winter Fuel Allowance. Giles Dilnot's been meeting investors who've lost everything because they put their life savings in an Icelandic owned bank in the Isle of Man. They're British, they lived here all their lives, they paid tax on their savings to the UK Government and now they can't understand why Gordon Brown won't step in. And the former lead singer of the Undertones, Fergal Sharkey, will be telling us why he thinks the Police are ruining live music in this country. That's the boys in blue, by the way, not Sting and Andy Summers. Do join us on Sunday. Oh, and if you're reading this Sergey do get in touch. I'm sure we could still find room for you too. Or as Brucie would say: "Nice to see yer, to see yer nice."
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