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First half of 2010 vs First half of 2012 – The Osborne Effect

July 25, 2012 12:11 pm

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How’s that austerity workin out for ya?

GDP Growth in Q1 and Q2

Related posts:

  1. The Osborne Effect: Growth halved in just 12 months
  2. The Osborne Effect – recession edition
  3. Osborne Effect: Keeping up with the Joneses?
  4. The Osborne Effect – This time it’s zero
  5. The Osborne Effect (part 2)
  • PeterJukes

    Where are all the Tories who – two years ago – rubbished the claims that Osborne’s spending plans would create a double dip recession?

    I take no pleasure that today’s statistics prove they were catastrophically wrong. Too many people suffer  - my college age kids as an example – to take any satisfaction in this.

    Osborne should be out in a cabinet reshuffle, along with Hunt and May, for pure incompetence. But the dynamics of the Tory Party and the Coalition make this impossible. The best we can hope for are ad hoc U-turns to increase spending and consumption.

    But what a cock-up. Compared to France, Germany and the USA, we’re being left behind. The stimulus of the previous government had restarted growth. The relative decline compared to other G6 economies since 2010 – all of which have had to weather the storms of the credit crunch and the eurozone crisis – can only be blamed on the current adminstration

    • treborc

      I’m seeing now colleges are only taking people who meet entrance  exams, my local college has stated it at bursting point and cannot take everyone.

      This is because   simple no jobs parents do not want kids  sitting around plus in Wales they get EMA.

      It is shocking that a Government has failed so seriously

    • AnotherOldBoy

      Here is one of them!  Those claims were and remain rubbish.  And, had Mr Balls, who made them, been in charge we would be in an even worse position.

      If only we had cut further and faster like Obama!

      • Redshift

        Here comes the ‘apply more leeches’ brigade. 

        I say brigade, they are looking increasingly isolated and mental. 

        • Mario Peebles

          Some people still believe that the earth is flat. Quite sweet really.

        • AnotherOldBoy

          Maybe you should see how President Obama’s cuts compare with those made to date by the present government before being rude.

          • PeterBarnard

            Well, you give us the figures (please), AOB …

          • Topper

            This is the same Obama who committed America to a record stimulus package that got his country’s credit rating reduced because of the incredible amount of borrowing the USA embarked on on the wholesale money markets, right?

      • Ericcusack1

        Wake up!! The number of people who would be suffering as a result of even deeper cuts would be catastrophic for the the whole country and society in general for generations to come. The destruction of communities in the 80′s due to Thatcherite policies would look insignificant compared to the effects inflicted due to stratergies outlined by yourself and other thoughtless self interested individuals. The attitude of ‘if it’s hurting it’s working’ is fine when the pain isn’t being felt by the individual making the statement  and  fails to recognise that the pain and suffering is not experienced by those who created the huge economic mess, ie the so called, ‘financial institutions,’ it is felt most accutely by the most vulnerable and unprotected within society, who, through no fault of their own, have fallen victim to corporate and financial greed, whilst the perpetrators are allowed to continue profiterring and holding nations to ransom with little or no remorse for their actions. So yes, ‘anotheroldboy’ as you can see comments like yours, do anger me greatly, unfortunately it is that ‘i’m alright jack’ mentality that allows the distruction of ordinary peoples lives, and removes any hope of ever knowing the luxury of a life where they don’t have to worry every minute of the day that their job is safe, if they can pay their bills, have enough food to feed their families or if they can keep a roof over their heads.  

      • Topper

        “If only we had cut further and faster like Obama!”

        That is a joke, right?

  • aracataca

    Congrats to those who said the rain would be blamed? Didn’t think the Jubilee would be blamed though ( Should have spotted that one). Any suggestion that it is the consequence of a crazy economic dogma being imposed on the country regardless of the consequences by a bunch of arrogant upper class idiots is, and must remain, pure speculation.

    • treborc

       You would have to name the people, because we have a hell of a lot of people that match that criteria these days from all parties.

      But I suspect your wrong with Osborne he just plainly useless.

  • Amber Star

    The depression deniers are out in force: The numbers can’t be right; there is lots of economic activity going on; unemployment is not rising by much etc.

    Osborne looked stunned when he made his wee press appearance; his chum Mervyn King & the chaps at the Treasury now have no ideas about what to do next. George never had any ideas in the first place.

    • Graham Duke

       Minor point – unemployment is actually falling, jobs are increasing, all of which is at odds with a recession. Senior, unbiased, economists are concerned that these indicators do not match up.

      • Redshift

        But those figures include a lot of dubious self-employment and a lot of people in part-time work who could and would rather be in full-time work. 

        We’ve had months and months of rising unemployment, so one month to the contrary isn’t going to change everything – e.g. unemployment AFTER this supposedly massive improvement to the labour market is still at the level that Osborne claimed back in 2010 would be the 2011 peak. It’s been worse than that peak and for far longer than anticipated. What is the longterm economic cost of that lost productivity?

        On top of that, the levels of job insecurity has sky-rocketed which also puts a dampener on spending. Finally, no economist is objective, but even if you think these figures will be revised to slightly more positive ones (worth mentioning at this point a load of rightwingers suggested that last quarter and they actually got revised into worse estimates), it is painfully obvious that these are terrible figures and the government’s economic plan is failing. 

        • Graham Duke

           The figures also include lots (most) of people who would sooner work for more money or for someone else.

          Most people and companies having been told they have too much debt are paying it off. St Vincent de Cable warned of this when Mr Bean was bribing everyone.

          Terrible figures are Greece, Spain, Ireland etc. Want to see what over borrowing does – go to Athens.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=651986937 Matthew Semple

        Two people earning £12,000 is more jobs than one person earning £25,000 but less money in the economy and less tax to the treasurer. 

      • Topper

        Of the 65,000 drop in the total over the last quarter, 61,000 were in London, and the Office of National Statistics suggests these are due to 100,000 temporary jobs at the Olympics as bar staff, cleaners and security guards. I wouldn’t read too much – or anything! – into the falls in unemployment which look as if they are set to be temporary with the head count of the jobless beginning to rise again later in the year.

  • Mario Peebles

    No doubt George Osborne will blame the Olympics for the next quarterly downturn.

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