The Former Treasury chief secretary's message to his successor

kennyboy66_2

StevieJ wrote: »

It made me embarrassed that I had voted LibDem, it really was pathetic.

Me to - although by the time he was interviewed on Newsnight last night, you could see he realised it had not been the best idea to release it.

nickmason

The reason this thread splits two ways is not that one side has a sense of humour and the other doesn't.

It's that one "side" thinks that person A has made an absolute horlicks of the economy, knowingly, and then has chosen to make a joke about it to the person who is going to have to sort it out. Which isn't very funny.

The other side thinks person A has done what anyone in that situation typically does, possibly for better reasons, and then has shown themselves to be human about the impossibility of the situation; and anyhow it wasn't person A's fault. Which is pretty good English stoicism. I get that.

So it's just a matter of perspective; a bit like when you were a teenager and your best mate drank too much and barfed all over the house when your parents were out. Or when that bully from down the road came over, nicked all your booze, barfed and then laughed, leaving you to pick up the pieces.

The "it's like rape" point was just silly.

Oh, and I wasn't aware of the precedent, which does give it more legitimacy, I agree - a sort of "in joke", bit like the expenses saga, or silly poses of the Bullingdon club, or other examples of "fine from the inside, but still inexcusable from outside".

StevieJ

nickmason wrote: »

Oh, and I wasn't aware of the precedent, which does give it more legitimacy, I agree - a sort of "in joke", bit like the expenses saga, or silly poses of the Bullingdon club, or other examples of "fine from the inside, but still inexcusable from outside".

Or maybe as Liam Byrne stated, it is common statement from him (and his predecessors) to other ministers when turning them down for extra cash, and simply banter in this context, I did find find David Laws appearing on tv with the contents of the note very cringy.