Shadow chief secretary Rachel Reeves says the Tories may be attempting to "deliberately mislead the public" about over statistics and the government's record.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Rachel Reeves MP (Labour, Leeds West), has written to Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority over David Cameron’s claims in a Tory party political broadcast that the government was “paying down Britain’s debts”; here is her letter in full:
Dear Andrew,
I am sure you will agree that it is vital that public debate is informed by accurate use of statistics.
However, in a Party Political Broadcast by the Conservative Party last night, the prime minister said:
“We are now halfway through the coalition’s time in government and in two and a half years we have achieved a lot but I know people don’t just want to hear from me, they want to know the facts…
“So though this government has had to make some difficult decisions, we are making progress. We are paying down Britain’s debts.”
As you will be aware, figures from the Office for National Statistics published this week show that the national debt is not being paid down, but is actually rising. Since this government came to office, public sector net debt has risen from £811.3 billion (55.3 per cent of GDP) in the second quarter of 2010, to £1,111.4 billion at the end of December 2012 (70.7 per cent of GDP).
The Office for Budget Responsibility has also forecast that public sector net debt will continue to rise and the government’s target to get it falling by 2015-16 will not be met.
This is not the first time government ministers have made similar claims about the national debt. However, last night’s party political broadcast is the first occasion I am aware of when the prime minister has made such a claim in a scripted broadcast. This suggests that the Conservative Party may be attempting to deliberately mislead the public about these statistics and the government’s record.
I would be grateful if you could bring some clarity to the situation and advise on how we can ensure that in the future debate on the national debt is accurate and based on the facts.
Yours sincerely,
Rachel Reeves MP
See also:
• Borrowing is rising after all – January 22nd, 2013
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16 Responses to “Reeves: Tories “may be attempting to deliberately mislead the public” over stats and government’s record”
celia
For “mislead” read “lie to the”… If a politican tells the truth all first born baby boys will die!
LB
Of course they are failing. Just because Ed Balls doesn’t know his arse from his elbow (deficit from borrowing from debt), or perhaps he is lying, doesn’t mean that Cameron must be telling the truth or is economically competent.
He isn’t. He’s just as incompetent as Ed Balls, and just as much a conman too.
The basic problem that governments have is that they have run up massive debts, and hidden most of those debts off the books. Those debts are too large for taxpayers to pay. They are 14 times tax revenues. They can’t pay, not they won’t pay. Since those debts are pension debts, its going to be you and me that are screwed.
Neither the Tories or Labour can solve it.Just as you can’t square a circle, you can’t service 7,000 bn of debts, on taxes of 550 bn, particularly when you are spending 700 bn a year.
So Labour and the Tories can’t solve it, and they will damage the economy in the process.
e.g. Labour’s standard mantra, repeated on the doorsteps is that growth will solve it. However, you can’t get growth in taxation, which is what it really means, of the level needed to pay the debts.
Its taxes that pay the debts. Printing for example doesn’t work, since its inflation linked debts. Print and you get inflation.
Borrowing doesn’t work, it just postpones the inevitable. No one has lent to the state since 2008. QE = 375 bn. QE assets? 375 bn of Gilts. Deficits? About the same. Its only the state lending to the state that’s mean the spending continued. ie. The same as printing.
So why critises Labour? It’s a left wing blog. When it comes to having a go at the mess the Tories are making, I go after them on their blogs. For the same reason. To point out the idiotic ideas they have. Applies both ways.
ollieclark
Tee hee. He said “Balls”.
Newsbot9
No, he’s just a copy/paste troll
Newsbot9
Really? I thought his nose got longer…