Tonight:
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Perhaps the only thing to be said about the economic crisis in Greece is that it makes every other EU economy, ours included, look good by comparison.
We have no scope for complacency here, as the downbeat predictions on economic growth by Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King this morning showed. But bad as our public sector deficit is and problematic as inflation remains, our situation pales in comparison with that of Greece. Painful as public spending restraints are, they have yet to be greeted with mass strikes, as in Athens.
But it is equally obvious that the problems of the Eurozone, of which Greece is a part, are visited upon all its members, including our major trading partners and fellow members of the EU. Whether Greece ends up being assisted by a bail-out from Germany in the interests of the euro, as is possible, or, more humiliatingly, by the IMF, there are repercussions here.
Britain can, however, feel justified in quiet relief that this country never joined the common currency. The reality, as Ireland found to its cost, is that interest rates are likely to be set in the interests of the biggest Eurozone economy, Germany, rather than that of the smaller states. And interest rates unrelated to an economy's real needs can create an artificial housing boom in good times and can aggravate an economic crisis. At least our interest rates are set with Britain's needs in mind.
More fundamentally, as the European Commission muscles in on Greece's crisis with prescriptions of its own for cutting public spending, it is apparent that belonging to the single currency can entail straightforward intervention in a country's economic policies. That was never spelt out when euro membership was touted here.
When the EU meets to discuss the Greek crisis tomorrow there will be differences between Eurozone member states and those such as Britain and Sweden which are not. We can do our best to ensure that the interests of the whole of the EU are not distorted by the crisis in the euro, which means that Britain may discreetly recommend IMF intervention for Greece. But we can now be thankful that our economy is not, to the same extent, at others' mercy.
Torture and the judges
The question of whether M15 was complicit in the torture of Binyam Mohamed, a man suspected of involvement with al Qaeda, has taken a new turn now that the courts have rejected the Government's appeal against releasing a document relevant to the case. Foreign Secretary David Miliband had argued that releasing the document in question could ultimately risk British lives by making the US less likely to share intelligence with Britain. Yet the judges have ruled against him.
Mr Mohamed is Ethiopian and is not a British citizen, though he was a legal resident here and converted to Islam here. His account of what he was doing in Pakistan with a flawed passport at the time of his arrest is open to serious doubt. Yet the issues at stake in this case raise important questions of principle, namely, whether British intelligence services should collude in torture in the way Mr Mohamed alleges. At the very least, if this is to be our policy, it is one that should be a matter of public debate.
MPs take a break
MPs will shortly be enjoying an 11-day vacation. It's not obviously justified. Given the number of important Government bills that are rushed through Parliament without time for proper debate, perhaps they'd be better off passing fewer laws and spending more time on them.
Reader views (1)
I feel that there will be NO 'Feel Good' factor economically during 2010. It will be 2011 onwards before this happens. It looks more like a double-dip recession later this year, maybe not as bad as some fear. Most folks will be trying to pay off what personal debt they have, rather than go out on spending sprees. So fiscally, things will be tight for another 4 or 5 years.
It matters not what Brown, Darling or any Labour economics spokespersons says now, it will be unbeleivable. Too many lies, and too many 'Tall Tales' have been spun by Brown and friends. Nobody in their right mind should buy into Labour economic nonsense. It all stinks like rotting fish!!
- Uncle Vanya, In the Land that Boudicca ruled, near Comolodunum, now the Land of The EU-SSR-Kommizzars, 10/02/2010 17:08
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