A quick test

What about the economy?

Who can remember five initiatives introduced by Alistair Darling in his recent Budget?

Beer prices up, car taxes up, err, now what else?

It’s kind of difficult to remember the big headlines from only a few weeks ago, which just illustrates the big problems facing Gordon Brown and the Labour Party right now. This weekend the headlines have all been about Labour fighting each other with minister threatening to throw punches, former ministers threatening to be “stalking horses” against Brown, other former ministers acknowledging that the government has lost all sense of direction, and other people calling for David Miliband, the South Shields MP, to lead them out of the mess. There have been no headlines about the government fighting the downturn in the economy this weekend, yet over the next couple of years this will be the big major issue exercising our minds.

The credit crunch is going to affect far more than just the housing market, investments are likely to be hit, and job losses will ensue, mortgages will go into default and house repossessions will rise. If the Bank of England is forced to step in and make more money available or reduce interest rates below a critical point, then inflation may once again get out of control, yet even now the housewives are complaining about the prices of basics rising. It will be the bread, milk, and butter issues that start to dominate conversation and the public perception will be to question whether Brown’s government has any real control over UK economic conditions.

As in most general elections, when the time comes for Brown to go to the country it will be the state of the economy that will determine the outcome for the Labour Party, and people will remember the rising costs of indirect taxes, lost jobs, lost homes, and the £billions spent on public services that failed to deliver lasting improvements.

The quick one day test on that given Thursday will revolve around one basic question - “Did the Brown government position the UK’s economy favourably in the face of world economic turbulence?”

As we all start to take a deep intake of breath to tighten the belts, it’s unlikely that we’ll be blaming David Cameron, Nick Clegg or Alex Salmond for our woes!

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