Author Archives: David Vance

The strange quality about BBC coverage of the Labour Party conference is the way in which 6th May 2010 has become Year Zero. The 13 years of Labour mismanagement of the economy are now being deliberately erased as if they never happened. This, of course, is the only way that Miliband and his cheer-leaders can try and reinvent themselves and even then it is highly dubious if most people will buy the lie. I listened to a remarkable Today interview with Yvette Cooper on the issue of Immigration this morning. Any neutral observer will accept that Labour deliberately pursued an Open Doors policy during their years in power. The traumatic consequences are transgenerational (Not least in some core Labour voting areas) and include such further disturbing facts as 40% of the growth in households between 2001 and 2008 being down to Immigration. But Cooper has no intention of taking any responsibility for this and Naughtie has no intention of interrogating her on it.  Instead, she was allowed to make general blandisments, waffle about points based rules, and then attack the Coalition. It is stunning to see Labour get away with all this revisionism, be it on Immigation, on the Economy, on Employment, on Health, on Education – but then again when we consider that the BBC was an enthusiastic propagandist for all of this societal nihilism, may be should NOT be that surprised?

I take a great interest in the Economy and so I am increasingly perplexed at the BBC/Flanders/Balls meme which suggests the UK can choose either “austerity” or “growth”. This makes no sense but it is how left wing politicians like to portray the situation. I keep hearing BBC interviewers ruminate on whether we should be adopting “Plan B” and choosing growth AS IF this was a real option. It’s not!! The current UK government – indeed any government – will always prefer to see economic growth. But that is virtually beside the facts that; a/ We have a massive structural debt as a result of years of Labour fiscal recklessness that must be addressed even if it means fewer Diversity Czars  and b/ Economic growth is a desirable outcome, not a specific policy. This is an entirely bogus argument which has been advanced by the BBC on behalf of Labour for some months now. It is also shameless because the very Labour politicians such as Balls who wrecked our economy are now posturing as the saviours of it and rather than interrogate the inherent hypocrisy and fiscal folly of what is being advocated, they simple cheer-lead for this mindlessness. I disagree with plenty of things the Coalition are doing but for anyone to pretend that it is wilfully ignoring “growth” is just plain nonsense and the BBC really needs to get to grips with itself on this issue.