Northern Rock's Labour Heritage

Having been a bit dismissive about the Northern Rock affair in the previous post, I see that blogger 'Guido Fawkes', in one of his rare serious posts, casts suspicion on the reasons for the government's bail out of Northern Rock, and likens the whole sorry business to a commentary on Brown's handling of the economy in microcosm. The post is here. And some of the comments following provide an interesting dialogue, some challenging and some endorsing the Fawkes view.

Thatcher in Red Dress Shame

Gordon Brown clearly thoroughly enjoys being prime minister, and particularly likes the bit where he gets to keep winding up the Tory party. This week's game was called 'Invite a Former Tory PM to No.10', and the obliging guest star was, of course, Lady Thatcher. Quite why it matters to the Tories that she has gone to visit Brown, or whether it really matters to anyone outside the Westminster village, remains a moot point. Perhaps it is the suspicion that Gordon Brown resembles the Iron Lady far more closely than her most recent successor as Tory Party leader that is giving the Cameron High Command the heebie jeebies. And they are rattled. Malcolm Rifkind even resorted to criticising the baroness's choice of a red dress for the meeting.

But Cameron has rallied today, and resorted to traditional opposition politics by roundly blaming the problems of Northern Rock on Gordon Brown. That's better. We know where we are with those more sweeping condemnations. Now if only Margaret Thatcher had joined the board of Northern Rock as one of her retirement posts, Cameron would be laughing. Because, as the former adviser to Norman Lamont on Black Wednesday, his judgment in matters economic has always been most sound!