Since the Tories came in , rough sleepers on the streets has doubled

[Eric the Half a Bee]

he was making a statement about how government spending in the run up to the crash meant the country was unprepared for the downturn. I thought it was quite obvious really.

So when asked the question recently by Andrew Neil, "Would you do what Labour did" and Osborne's reply was "broadly speaking, yes", coupled with the fact that Osborne backed Labour's spending plans 100% when in opposition, should we assume that had the Conservatives been in power, they would have spent the same or not?

[Feedback]

So when asked the question recently by Andrew Neil, "Would you do what Labour did" and Osborne's reply was "broadly speaking, yes", coupled with the fact that Osborne backed Labour's spending plans 100% when in opposition, should we assume that had the Conservatives been in power, they would have spent the same or not?

Perhaps, given policy would have been different e.g. we may not have light touch regulation although I doubt it.

don't get on your high horse about Labour being at the tiller. It happened when they were in power. If the Tories were in power it may also have happened as I imagine regulation would have been no more stringent than under labour.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Perhaps, given policy would have been different e.g. we may not have light touch regulation although I doubt it.

don't get on your high horse about Labour being at the tiller. It happened when they were in power. If the Tories were in power it may also have happened as I imagine regulation would have been no more stringent than under labour.

I have no doubts that the same would have happened had the Conservatives been in power, which is why it is utterly hypocritcal of them (or their voters) to blame another party for doing exactly what they would have done. However, this is what has happened. The interesting thing in all of this is that not one single independent fiscal organisation have agreed with the Tory mantra that Labour's spending helped cause a crash. Indeed, the BoE, IFS, OBR have all said the opposite.