Frank's Westminster Blog

For some time now it has been possible to see the four horsemen of the apocalypse on the horizon. Most economic commentators ignore their existence and the potential damage that could be inflicted on our economy if they all swept through at once. Horse one symbolises the ruinous state of public accounts. The government first claimed the deficit to be around £85bn. This was revised in the pre-budget report then revised again to £175bn in the budget itself. I argued that these...

David Cameron's speech isn't simply a raid into Labour territory. The speech declares war on Labour's reason for existence. There have, over the past hundred years, been disputes over what Labour is or should be about. Whatever individual views protagonists have pushed, most have agreed that Labour exists to protect and advance the interests of the poor. It is this belief in our very being that Cameron attacks by looking at this Government's record. His choice of figures is in a few...

Only now, we are told, are the markets beginning to register the fear of growing inflation. After months of propaganda on the dangers of deflation a few of the dunderheads that run our financial system are beginning to wake up to a spark of reality. One sign of the change is the demand for US Treasury-protected securities which has accelerated in the past month. Supplies for such bonds held by Wall St. dealers are at their lowest level for three years. Even before the last round of...