The true level of debt

There is a suggestion doing the rounds that the IMF be called in immediately after the election in order to certify the level of debt.

I am not sure about the IMF - whose experts arriving on the Heathrow tarmac would cause the pound to fall out of bed - but I certainly think some independent body should do an audit, so the new government can at least know - and let the public know - how bad it is.

One thing which should be included is the PFI - the system of joint public and private sector projects initiated by Gordon Brown. After all, if the project fails and we are left with a half built hospital or school the government is going to be forced to finish it. So the taxpayer is on the hook for the whole of the money. This was just one of Gordon's little fiddles.

There will be more.

Spending Cuts

The Chancellor, Mr Darling, has 'admitted' that expenditure cuts will be more savage than those made by Mrs Thatcher. Cue lefty outrage.

The actual figures are below, on the left Gross Domestic Producct, on the right public spending £bn


1979 199 85.2
1980 233 103.9
1981 256 116.1
1982 281 128.0
1983 307 132.7
1984 330 140.5
1985 362 150.9
1986 389 158.6
1987 429 164.6
1988 478 173.6
1989 525 179.9
1990 570 200.9

As you can see, public spending rose inexorably, year after year, under Mrs Tatcher's leadership.

The question I wuld like answered is why the BBC, a supposedly unbiased organisation, is promulgating this nonsense.