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The Election that isn't worth winning

Ed Bowsher
by Lovemoney Staff Ed Bowsher on 29 April 2010  |  Comments 1 comment

Mervyn King apparently thinks that the next government will so damaged by the austerity drive, it will be out of power for a generation.

We all know that there will have to be big tax rises and spending cuts after the election. But some reported comments by Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, still made an impact on me. US economist, David Hale has made the following claim:

"I saw the governor of the Bank of England (Mervyn King) last week when I was in London and he told me whoever wins this election will be out of power for a whole generation because of how tough the fiscal austerity will have to be."

If Mervyn King is right, the 2010 election is certainly a good election to lose. It's not the first time this has happened. In hindsight, 1992 was a great election for Labour to lose. Had Labour won in '92, Black Wednesday would almost certainly have still happened, and the Tories could easily have won in '97 on the basis that Kinnock was economically clueless.

Political speculation aside, it's also very depressing to think how tough things may be over the next few years.

I came across this report via Edmund Warner's blog on the Telegraph.

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Comments (1)

  • Rogue Economist
    Love rating 2
    Rogue Economist said

    Very true but Mervyn King has thrown his full support behind the coalition austerity measures, the stupidity of Labour's 'letter' meant as a joke that was not funny and the fact that no matter who took power would have to be tough, although Labour would have driven this country in to an even deeper hole, I feel if the coalition can communicate this adequately they will be hailed as saviours of the UK.

    Regards,

    Den.

    Report on 21 May 2010  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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