audit commission CEO says uk debt makes armageddon scenario a distinct possibility!

bubblesmoney

it probably wasnt fair of me starting a political name fest:o . apologies. i should have just stuck to the article itself.

one thing we should note is that the audit commission will have access to classified information as well and other information not in the public domain which they might not release to public. but that might have a bearing on their opinion as well. point to ponder. wonder how much crap is hidden in the toxic bank debts yet to 'officially' come on to the govts books just like the PFI dust under the carpet.

yes i too think the tories have much to come up with. but irrespective of that, i think this present lot have had their snouts in the trough for too long. there should always be a periodic culling of the party in power, it helps in getting their fat ars*s back on planet earth instead of being in the clouds where it usually is when any party is in power for too long. who ever comes to power in the next election have a tough job at hand :beer:

i would take serious note of any criticism being done by the audit commission and wonder what is being kept under the carpet. remember the audit commission is an independent check on waste in govt expenditure so they will have access to govt financial data being kept away from the public as well.

Graham_Devon

Our ACTUAL debt is above 100% GDP.

That uses all of our debt. Not just selected debts, to make up the figures.

Debt last year was calculated to be £1.44 trillion, which didn't take into account government debts either. UK GDP was £1.41 trillion. Just consumer debt.

Government debt, at the moment, stands at around £1 trillion. Thats not 40% of £1.41 trillion.

On the picture of the world above, our colour should be more like the North Americas.

97trophy

The Intrade political futures market is the best predictive instrument in the world for elections.

That market has the Tories to win the next election at 79%.

IMO it not a matter of people liking the Tories, the swing voters just hate Brown and Labour.

Wookster

bubblesmoney wrote: »

yes i too think the tories have much to come up with. but irrespective of that, i think this present lot have had their snouts in the trough for too long.

Its not just snouts in the trough though, its the utter fiscal imprudence we have seen from Brown. He should have prepared in the good times, instead he increased the deficit quite significantly. If he had been more cautious, there would be much more room for a huge stimulus package.

bubblesmoney wrote: »

there should always be a periodic culling of the party in power, it helps in getting their fat ars*s back on planet earth instead of being in the clouds where it usually is when any party is in power for too long. who ever comes to power in the next election have a tough job at hand :beer:

Agreed. Labour is now arrogant with power and they need a kicking. Just listen to the way Gordon, Milliband, Balls, Smith, Blears etc talk to the press - it is with utter contempt.

Not sure that the Tories would be any better however, they will be more fiscally prudent and in these dark times that's what we need most.

Heyman_2

Wookster wrote: »

Agreed. Labour is now arrogant with power and they need a kicking. Just listen to the way Gordon, Milliband, Balls, Smith, Blears etc talk to the press - it is with utter contempt.

The only reason the Tories aren't 'arrogant' at the moment is because they are content to sit and snipe at the current government, knowing that they will be voted in by default at the next GE. Seems they are terrified of screwing it up for themselves by actually going into policy detail so basically silence has become their best policy.

Apart from Clarke, I'm not a fan of anyone on the current Tory front bench, Cameron especially being rather too much of a fake for my liking. And at 68, how long is Clarke going to stick around for after the GE?

Wookster wrote: »

Not sure that the Tories would be any better however, they will be more fiscally prudent and in these dark times that's what we need most.

They will have to be, but I don't think they will get time because to achieve that 'fiscal prudence' they are going to hammer public services and the NHS. Get ready for Hospital closures and Council Tax capping to be back on the agenda. The last Tory government didn't exactly cover itself in glory with the whole ERM fiasco and the handling of the early 90's recession.

Rochdale_Pioneers

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Our ACTUAL debt is above 100% GDP.

That uses all of our debt. Not just selected debts, to make up the figures.

Debt last year was calculated to be £1.44 trillion, which didn't take into account government debts either. UK GDP was £1.41 trillion. Just consumer debt.

Government debt, at the moment, stands at around £1 trillion. Thats not 40% of £1.41 trillion.

On the picture of the world above, our colour should be more like the North Americas.

Using the same methodology on the rest of the world you would have to start adding new colours. You can't keep comparing apples to oranges and insisting that our apples aren't the same colour as theirs. If you want to include all our
government liabilities through our banks then you have to include all the other states liabilities through their banks. And thats ignoring the simple premise that this is an accounting method rather than a reality (the real world being that bank debts don't default at 100% and assets become worth 0% as is assumed).

Again, you can call our debt whatever you want - as long as you use the same methodology elsewhere. The favoured tactic for fevered Brown bashers is to add things onto the UK but not anywhere else. I do hope that you're not falling into that same tactic.

Cannon_Fodder

Maybe a December 2008 version of that map would be helpful?

2007 is hardly relevant any more.

Although part of me doesn't overly care that we may or may not be quite so screwed up as some other tin pot parts of the world.

Our future tax bills are going to be enormous. End of.