The Empty Budget and its Consequences

The abject if reasonable fear of facing the electorate, ever, that caused Brown to put off the election until the last possible day before Parliament would have expired  (an unusual practice last seen some three centuries ago) has had the effect of clarifying the Brown regime's attitudes to both the economic disaster Brown has brought about, and the unhealthy aversion to democratic scrutiny of fiscal and monetary policy they would like to pander.

 The Conservatives have stated plainly that they will have a budget within 50 days should they take office and as soon as they have seen the books.  In that Budget the Conservative administration's response to dealing with our fiscal and monetary crisis will be enacted.  It is this clear undertaking, coupled with the equally clear commitment to restrain government expenditure and  limit taxes on jobs to encourage growth, that is playing a large part in holding the UK economy in its state of suspended animation and preventing it from going into free fall.  Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland are going through severe expenditure restraint and facing down the fiercely expressed disapproval of some of their people. They all took such measures months ago and still Greece is being eyed doubtfully by its creditors, the other countries less so but they weren't caught out fiddling their official statistics as well.

Brown Labour has refused to countenance any restraint in government expenditure, not even a consideration, until 2011.  The reckless continuation in office but not in power forced a Budget upon the regime and then, when required to declare whether this was it, that the contents of that Budget were  the  Budget for 2010, insisted that that indeed was it.  Should the regime get back, the next Budget will be in 2011.  Either there will  be no attempt to restrain expenditure for another 12 months or, so irresponsible is that stance, so unacceptable to our creditors, the intention is to make the necessary cuts and tax rises either by stealth, away from the public view embodied in the presentation of a Budget to the elected Parliament, or to accept an IMF imposed programme of cuts and tax rises that Brown can declare to be necessary in the interests of global economic discipline and the furtherance of the role of global institutions in economic governance, but most certainly not his fault - it was the IMF.  Either way our Legislature will be pushed further from its surveillance, and concession of authority to the Executive.

So in the warped ideology and political understanding of  Brown and his regime this will be seen as a win-win: no need to be held responsible and lose the elections by cutting back their client state; increased Executive autonomy in economic decision-taking and implementing further tax rises to enlarge the areas of government expenditure, or globalising our economic governance, and laying any pain and blame elsewhere.