Is George Osborne managing the economy well?

Last time Labour were in they left us with the biggest mess ever. Gordon was a joke

Wilf looks like you are talking out of your hat, look at trade figures for the 12 mths before the rich tories took over and then 6 weeks after they went from 2.9% to 0.2%. Ask any one who nearly lost all their money or house when the GLOBAL ECCONOMY struck. Labour must have had some power to cause it

Mick-yes I agree thats my point Labour were part of the problem. they cosied up to all the rich city bankers and took their eye off the ball then suddenly in September 2008 the economy fell off a cliff. The conservatives have not been perfect at all but at least the economy seems back on track and a lot better than Europe apart from Germany

Archiebald, like I said it was a global thing nothing to do with the labour party, the Tories (Osborne) has spent £50000 fighting to stop the EU putting a cap on bankers bonus's and he gave hedge fund managers a big tax break, but they crucified disabled people who needed 2 bedrooms, sorry but it always will be that the Tories will look after the rich

It is true that Labour made some big mistakes when they were in office under Margaret Thatcher's prodigy Tony Blair. Just like the Tories, Blair and his disciples thought that the answer was to allow unethical corporates to get away with murder. Fortunately, Labour is now appropriately opposed to such business... unlike the Tories. The economy only works for the wealthy, The NHS is in decline because of Conservative policy. We MUST learn from history and vote Labour under Ed Miliband to start to do things differently

What a load of rubbish! It's the economy that creates the wealth to finance the public services, including the NHS - which is doing a fantastic job. The Coalition has continued Labour's budget for the NHS, plus some - don't be fooled by Labour rhetoric. If anything it is saddled with ill-negotiated PFI contacts negotiated under incompetent Labour, devoid of financial nouse; the biggest privatisation you could imagine; all done with Miliband and Balls in the Treasury. Why did Burnham seek quotations to 'privatise' Hinchingbroke Hospital and subsequently hypocritically criticise the Coalition for simply following through his plan in choosing one of the firms he selected to quote? (Note - not really privatise, just subcontact the management - of which Labour subcontacted 5% of services to which the Coalition have only added 1%) We must keep these incompetents out of government. Labour will always make the mistakes you refer to. Remember Brown and Blair's statement that they had abolished boom and bust?
Remember how Labour also left the country in 1979? There's nobody as blind as those who don't want to see. If you want more points - who left less social housing at the end of 13 years in power, than they had at the beginning? Who allowed 4 million mainly unskilled immigrants into the country in their last 10 years in power, undermining the minimum wage, and making no plans for housing, schools and hospitals to cover these people? Want any more?

Oh dear... Poor Wombat. You really have fallen hook line and sinker for the Lynton Crosby effect haven't you?

I know that whatever I write will not change your view because, as you say, "There's nobody as blind as those who don't want to see" but I will have a go at setting you straight on a few facts... Not Labour rhetoric... solid fact.

First I will totally agree with you about the Balir administration... As I said, Tony Blair was Margaret Thatcher's greatest achievement. She actually said this herself. It is the pursuance of Conservative Policy by the previous Conservative Government, the last Labour government and this coalition that have resulted in the mess that we are in.

Let me start with the NHS. I am a Consultant in the NHS with more than 30 years experience. I totally agree with you about the disaster of PFI contracts. Are you aware that PFI was John Major's flagship policy? So Blair continuing this is a continuation of a disastrous Tory policy.... as was the privatisation of Hinchingbrooke, turning the NHS into a market place etc.

Of course it is the private sector that raises money for public services. Nobody is against ethical business who pay their staff properly and pay their taxes. Their are countless examples of such companies in this wonderful country and all power to their elbow!

However, the blind faith that Tories have in big business is frightening. I believe in a democracy where people determine government and policies and NOT big business (watch this week's Panorama and see one of your Conservative colleagues admitting that big business influences government policy). Oh yes, let me deal with the pathetic counter-argument put by the right wing about the Unions funding the Labour Part... Of course they do! The Labour Party was started 100 years ago to represent the interests of working people because they were NOT properly represented by the political establishment of the time. I am not defending the abuses of the Unions 35 years ago but believe that the Unions are more representative of working people than the Conservatives can ever be.

Back to the NHS. In the past 5 years 20 billion pounds has been taken OUT of the NHS. Over the next 5 years the Conservatives plan to take out a further 22 billion... This is a FACT! I go to the meetings every week where we are in the process of planning what are euphemistically called 'Cost Improvement Plans' (CIP). At the same time, social care has been slashed to the point where psychiatrically disturbed children cannot be admitted to hospital because of a lack of beds or alternative care. Once again, this is a FACT. Similarly, we have to contend with daily bed-blocking by people who need social care which is no longer available because of the decimation of social services budgets. This ends up costing us even more!

This government spent 3 billion pounds on a reorganisation that even they do not understand. It has been pointless and achieved absolutely nothing.

Now let's turn to the deficit. We now owe significantly more than we did in 2010. Cuts to welfare have caused untold misery with no savings. The bedroom tax costs more to administer than it has saved and, as a Consultant, I deal with suicidal people on a weekly basis who do not where to turn or how to resolve their situation.

I could go on and on about the unbelievable incompetence and misdirected nature of this government but will just deal with another couple of points...

The vast majority of the welfare budget is consumed by pensioners (who have just been given a tax giveaway by Osborne and who tend to be Tory Voters) and by low income families who are subsidised by the taxpayer because of the appalling way in which so many businesses treat them (zero hours contracts, being paid below minimum wages etc). I will leave out the absolute 'con' that many of the statistics are about new business start-ups. We need good business to actually generate taxes. We don't need governments to keep subsidising big businesses who enjoy huge profits and have their low paid staff cared for by the tax system.

The last point I will make to you Mr Wombat is about immigrants. Immigrants contribute more to the economy than they take out... Immigration is GOOD for the country. I do not know if you are a UKIP voter or a Tory (It is never easy to tell the difference - if there is, indeed, one). Just be very careful about blaming particular groups of people for the ills of this country... That is how it all started in Nazi Germany. This is particularly dangerous rhetoric at a time when antisemitism and islamaphobia is gripping Europe.

Hope you learned something...

Drmerlin. have to say I do not agree with many of your points Labour ruined the country 5 years ago. I am not saying the conservatives are much better but it looks to me like labour would penalise companies again and stifle any growth we have

Archiebald: I am sorry that you disagree. Let me be absolutely clear about what I am saying. Labour's huge mistake was following the Tory lead of capitulating to big business... They, like the Conservatives, got far too close. Might I remind you what actually happened... The banks squandered billions in casino banking... They bet, and lost, with our money. The government had no choice but to bail them out. This is what we are all paying for now. You would be naive to believe that the current government, had they been in power then would not have done EXACTLY the same thing. Let us not forget that as the opposition, the Tories never challenged what was going on. This does not excuse Labour at all. However, what happened was the inevitable result of Thatcher and Reagan's policies of the 1980's. Blair won the country over by persuading them that he could be more free market than the Tories and we all fell for it.

You also blame Labour for what was an international crisis.

Let us all clear up another issue. Labour is definitely NOT anti-business. They are very much pro-business. However, a distinction must be made between opposing large corporates who fail to pay their tax and also employ people on appalling contracts and pay which results in us, the taxpayers, having to subsidise them.

There are numerous examples of superb big businesses in this country who care about their staff, pay their taxes and genuinely contribute to the economy. That is the kind of business that we need to back to the hilt.

Until the international community tackles the abuses of many of the banks and those corporates who employ armies of accountants and lawyers to avoid tax and devise creative ways of avoiding their responsibilities as ethical employers, democracy will continue to decline and policy will be devised by a few immensely wealthy individuals who have the power to dictate policy to suit their own greed.

I am all for success (and indeed wealth) that has been fairly and squarely earned. I (as I am sure you are) am a taxpayer who earns well and makes my fair contribution to our country and community. All that we ask for is that everyone should do the same. No rules for one group in society above another.

Big mistakes..yes helped to destabilise the whole of the Middle East and helped create the biggest economic mess since 1929...not bad going eh?

Totally agree with you about Blair destabilising the Middle East. I think he and Bush should be tried as war criminals. As for the biggest financial crisis since 1929, that is what happens when you follow Conservative policies. However, I repeat, to suppose that the Conservatives would have done anything different had they been in power is naive. If you want to understand the roots of the financial crisis of 2008 you have to go back to Thatcher and Reagan. The biggest economic mess since 1929 was caused by a Conservative approach to government under Blair pursuing deregulation of the financial sector. That was pretty unforgivable. It is a shame that this government has not learned that lesson...

Oh yes... one more thing Archiebald. We look forward to working with you in coalition after May 5th 😉

Labour did not leave this country on its knees , that is Tory lies. don't believewhat you are told. Read the truth.

Here is the truth: http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uk_national_debt

The UK was a total mess after Labour left it in 2008

Sorry Wilf you are singing the tory hymn the tory crippled us within 6 mths we had a growth of 2.9% after the election -0.2 percent thanks to the tories

But Mick the reason the growth rate stopped in 2009 was because the world went into recession-most countries- and Labour had caused a boom...then bust!

I guess you mean 1979 and 2010? Also why not vote Conservative? I come from a working class background and have had to make my way in life. I can recognise financial competence when I see it - as you yourself has deduced. The Conservatives have picked up the economy and need to bring it to fruition. Labour, despite saying they had abolished boom and bust, took our economy down 7% - but nobody had their wages and salaries reduced. This 7% had to be made up before earnings could start to rise again.

Good point. I'm going to vote conservative.

Oh so sad .

Who are you voting for rudgy...which amazing party will "fix" UK Ltd?

Archiebald: Zero hours ,more austerity ,poverty ,more homeless people, food banks .
So you can guess I will not be voting Tory .How is it were in it together just think about the posh boys and all their tax evasion ,but you could be one of them .

The amount that this country owes since 2010 - vastly increased, The amount of tax that the government collects - vastly decreased. The number of working people using food banks - vastly increased. The effect on public services - utter decimation. Money wasted on crackpot schemes such as NHS reorganisation or free schools - billions of pounds wasted. Number of prosecutions for illegal tax evasion - 1! A cost of living crisis for the many while Osborne fights any attempt to limit bankers' bonuses... And you believe you can recognise economic competence??? Really???

If you think the economy is doing well you live in a different country from me.Employment figures are a fiddle ,taking people of the employment register and them working zero hours not knowing what they are going to be paid ,then having to claim benefit to be able to help pay bills .

More people seem to be employed now than recent years. Economic indicators seem to be showing a slow recovery...at least we are not in the total mess that countries like Greece, Spain & Italy are in

Come on... Let's apply a little intelligence here. "Employment is the highest it has ever been"... Whoopee! Then why is it that the tax take from employment is the LOWEST it has ever been??? Zero hours contracts, low paid jobs subsidised by the taxpayer and other 'scams' simply massage the figures to help Lynton Crosby and his like make out that things are much better than they are. The economic cycle means that the recovery was inevitable regardless of what this dreadful government did. The gap between the richest and poorest has soared. Most people are NOT experiencing economic recovery. In the NHS where I work we are about to have another 22 billion pounds chopped! Public services are being decimated, bankers bonuses (for complete incompetence) are rising and productivity is dropping because of the myth that if you make the rich richer then we all benefit.

It is clear that this site is clearly conservative and the conservatives never let fact get in the way of dogma...

Thank goodness... at least one other person on this site who is not sucked in by right wing propaganda!

You sound like a real leftie drmerlin..site is clearly conservative..really? and what makes you think that...I vote Green party...keep ramping up growth and suddenly mother earth will have nothing more to offer!

Archiebald... apologies my friend. I am indeed a proud lefty... I care about those who struggle and are disadvantaged. Thrilled to hear that you are a Green supporter. I completely support your views on the environment. The Greens are the only other serious party that I would consider voting for... Good socialist credentials 🙂

There is more than one other leftie on this site. The Problem with Silver Surfers is that they want to vote conservative because they believe that it the 'respectable' thing to do. They think that by doing that they are almost like the rich people they would like to be. They don't bother to think for themselves, Just believe what you are told, then everything is fine. No it's not fine. This country is in a mess which started because of the bankers and then the coalition took over and made it so much worse. They only know how to take money from the poor and force them from their homes with the bedroom tax, which in real terms costs far more than it saves. Look it all up on the internet. It is all available if you want to read it for yourself.

OK - I have a problem with your phrase, "The Problem with Silver Surfers is that they want to vote conservative because they believe that it the 'respectable' thing to do.". 1. I'm a Silver surfer; 2) I don't want to vote conservative and 3) it's got nothing whatsoever believing "...it is the 'respectable' thing to do." I wouldn't vote conservative because they care only about themselves and their rich cronies. The care nothing for ordinary people and, in fact have demonised people who haven't had the "good fortune" to be "one of them".

I could not agree more!

You have still not addressed the fact that despite more people being employed, the tax take from the employed is DOWN. This is because so many of these so-called new jobs are low-paid, zero hours contracts etc. Self-employment is the biggest con... For example, once upon a time, if you wanted to be a delivery driver, you joined a firm who supplied the van, petrol etc. You had a proper job with proper working conditions and rights. Now many van drivers have to provide their own van, service and maintain it etc. They have to work stupid numbers of hours to barely survive. However, all that is important for the Tories is to say, look at how unemployment is falling!!!

At the same time, productivity remains an issue in Britain. Give people proper jobs for a living wage and watch productivity grow! More people in proper jobs will pay more tax and then we might begin to see sustainable growth in the economy that will benefit us all.

Think there are about 20 million people clased as Silversurfers...are all of them voting conservative? Think not!