Party Lines: November 29th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Speaking to BBC News this evening after the chancellor’s statement to the commons, shadow chancellor Alan Johnson said that the Tory economic plan is more about the electoral cycle than the economic cycle:

“This isn’t anything about the financial, economic cycle it’s about the electoral cycle. They want to get this fiscal deficit done in four years time and then go back with something to the electorate before the next general election.”

“Don’t forget what the OBR have done, they’ve downgraded the growth forecasts for this year. It was originally 2.6%, and then the chancellor made his budget speech and it suddenly became 2.3%, and now it is 1.8%. And next year unemployment will go up.”

“So this unprecedented gamble that they can bring the fiscal deficit down, consolidate the finances within five years – no other country is attempting it and only two countries have attempted it in living memory. I think it is a gamble.”

And in an interview on the Today Programme this morning, Barking MP Margaret Hodge spoke ahead of the screening of documentary “The Battle for Barking“, which documents the fight between Labour and the BNP earlier this year, Hodge said:

“It is a story of success and lessons for Labour, we did actually smash the BNP, I did double my majority and we defeated every single one of those 12 BNP sitting councillors in the borough as well.”

“What I did, because there was nothing I could do about immigration and there was nothing I could do about magicking up the jobs and the housing that created massive anger and frustration.”

“Everything I did was about reconnecting Labour with our local people…we do our politics now in a different way. I listened to what people have said and even if I can’t deliver on the big issues, I can deliver on things like potholes, pavements.”