One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good job
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One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good job2009:
Budget deficit: £175 billion
GDP: £1.375 trillion
Deficit as a % of GDP: 13.2%
2012:
Budget deficit: £90 billion
GDP: 1.562 trillion
Deficit as a % of GDP: 5.7%
Sources: (Wikipedia includes all citations so I'm just linking to Wikipedia for ease)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_Kingdom_Budget
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_United_Kingdom_budget
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._GDP_(nominal)
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=g...rce=undefined;
These figures make it clear to me that voting conservative is the only responsible option. Do Labour actually care about the long term strength of the economy? It's hard to believe they do when they are willing to run 13.2% deficits (NOT including bailouts!). Then of course they paint the tories as the bad guys for trying to plug the hole.
As students this is especially relevant to us. Who would be forced to pay off the debt and it's interest, which would probably be over 100% of GDP by now if Labour stayed in power? WE would. What would our credit rating be? A? BBB? Think of how much interest we would be paying if Labour stayed in power. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobI haven't got the time to dig out statistics and their sources althought I am certain that the current budget deficit is nowhere near your claimed £90 billion, I believe it's more about £125 billion right now?
A quick google has shown here; "The deficit is forecast to be £163 billion (11.1% of GDP) this year: a very high level by historical standards."
http://www.parliament.uk/business/pu...d-the-deficit/
I haven't got time to find figures for the GDP however it is clear that we have just entered a double-dip recession and our economy has been shrinking since the financial crisis hit. Your figures show a GDP increase of more than 10%? HA! Especially hilarious when you consider that our first time experimenting with such huge rounds of quantitative easing has directly contributed to GDP, estimates being by as much as 2% from this article;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14970529
Remember that was a while ago and IIRC we have created even more money out of thin air since that time. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobMy sources are (through wikipedia) the IMF and the government. I sure trust those much more than Big Benji's centre for statistics off the top of his head.(Original post by Big-Benji)
I haven't got the time to dig out statistics and their sources althought I am certain that the current budget deficit is nowhere near your claimed £90 billion, I believe it's more about £125 billion right now?
A quick google has shown here; "The deficit is forecast to be £163 billion (11.1% of GDP) this year: a very high level by historical standards."
http://www.parliament.uk/business/pu...d-the-deficit/
I haven't got time to find figures for the GDP however it is clear that we have just entered a double-dip recession and our economy has been shrinking since the financial crisis hit. Your figures show a GDP increase of more than 10%? HA! Especially hilarious when you consider that our first time experimenting with such huge rounds of quantitative easing has directly contributed to GDP, estimates being by as much as 2% from this article;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14970529
Remember that was a while ago and IIRC we have created even more money out of thin air since that time.
Btw. You said we have "(i)clearly just entered a double dip recession and (ii) the economy has been shrinking since the financial crisis hit"
Firstly, it is certainly not clear as he figures are not concrete and the stated contraction is marginal.
Secondly, (I) and (ii) above contradict each other. If we have been shrinking since Labour's crisis then we have not "just" entered recession. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobContext? Okay. The global economy was bad then. The global economy is bad now.(Original post by Bobifier)
A single statistic without context tells you absolutely nothing.
Stop clutching at straws and admit that the Con/Lib government are doing a good job at plugging the hole that Labour left in our public finances. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobDo you actually know anything?(Original post by Sdiff)
Context? Okay. The global economy was bad then. The global economy is bad now.
Stop clutching at straws and admit that the Con/Lib government are doing a good job at plugging the hole that Labour left in our public finances. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobAhh, GCSE History memories(Original post by Bobifier)
A single statistic without context tells you absolutely nothing.
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobLOL! I linked my references to www.parliament.uk - how is that "Big Benji's centre for statistics off the top of his head"? You couldn't get more direct if you tried, wikipedia = hahaha.(Original post by Sdiff)
My sources are (through wikipedia) the IMF and the government. I sure trust those much more than Big Benji's centre for statistics off the top of his head.
Btw. You said we have "(i)clearly just entered a double dip recession and (ii) the economy has been shrinking since the financial crisis hit"
Firstly, it is certainly not clear as he figures are not concrete and the stated contraction is marginal.
Secondly, (I) and (ii) above contradict each other. If we have been shrinking since Labour's crisis then we have not "just" entered recession.
They are not contradictory; technically a recession is two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction. Since the financial crisis, our economy has shrunk massively - even though we've had some quarters of negligible growth (0.1% at times) and of which can be partly attributed to the extreme measure of such significant quantitative easing.
The double-dip recession means that we have not come out of recession as the Torys told us would be the result of such fast and deep austerity. Hence, we have just entered recession (albeit our second). -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobUnable to refute the hard data, resorts to petty insults.(Original post by Bobifier)
Do you actually know anything?
I guess that means I'm correct. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good job
Note UK unemployment rate.
Depends also on what you class as "doing a good job", if a very high unemployment rate and cuts that have affected the poorest in society are what you class as "doing a good job", then the Tories are doing it perfectly. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good job(Original post by Big-Benji)
LOL! I linked my references to www.parliament.uk - how is that "Big Benji's centre for statistics off the top of his head"? You couldn't get more direct if you tried, wikipedia = hahaha.
They are not contradictory; technically a recession is two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction. Since the financial crisis, our economy has shrunk massively - even though we've had some quarters of negligible growth (0.1% at times) and of which can be partly attributed to the extreme measure of such significant quantitative easing.
The double-dip recession means that we have not come out of recession as the Torys told us would be the result of such fast and deep austerity. Hence, we have just entered recession (albeit our second).
-Yes, you linked to an article from 2010 when labour was in power. Nice one.
-And no, since we have had growth since exiting Labour's recession, we have not been in recession since the crisis. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobUnemployment was always going to rise suddenly.
That's what happens when 100,000 jobs were randomly created in local councils every few years by the Labour government.
Unemployment fgures themselves are a complete fiddle as well, it's very convenient that vast swathes of the unemployed are hiding in education.
edit: neg me all you want but if you aren't going to refute what I say it makes no difference to the discussion. You could at least contribute.Last edited by Keckers; 05-05-2012 at 18:53. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobI did refute your hard data, and you chose to ignore my refutation. This is symptomatic of a disorder known as idiocy, so I thought I would point this out to you so you can see a doctor or never talk to anyone again in case it's contagious or something.(Original post by Sdiff)
Unable to refute the hard data, resorts to petty insults.
I guess that means I'm correct. -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good job2009 was the last Labour budget that lasted the whole year.(Original post by internet tough guy)
But what was the deficit like when Labour left office in 2010 ? -
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Re: One simple statistic that tells me the tories are doing a good jobSo we still have a budget deficit then? There's a long way to go.
Poor people use pretty much every public service. How can the government cut spending without affecting them?(Original post by S119234)
cuts that have affected the poorest in society
And regarding your graph showing unemployment rates, if you think the government has absolute control over employment rates, you're naive.Last edited by electriic_ink; 05-05-2012 at 17:24.
