In recent years my respect for Frank Field, labour MP for Birkenhead, has steadily grown. Not only because he seems one of the few who refuses to put party before country, but his proposals have substance.
He was sacked earlier on in this administration because his free thinking on deep and difficult issues couldn't be tolerated - in particular his determination that means testing has to be stopped. Not only did he rightly say it was degrading, but it was ethically corrosive (people are rewarded for making themselves worse off, or for misrepresenting themselves as worse off than they really are) and both situations are expensive to administer.
That's the past. Today it is reported Mr Field calls Gordon Brown's economic policies 'Alice in Wonderland politics'.
"Our country is in such a state. We've printed money to buy our own debt. It's real Alice in Wonderland politics. We have to ask the world to lend us money. If we can't shift the debt, we're finished".
Isn't it refreshing to hear a politician spell out the present state of our economy. Nothing about recovery of course, because there is none, although the Mad Hatter wants us to believe the opposite.
A report published today from the Institute for Fiscal Studies also damns Gordon Brown's management of the public finance.
It said the last seven years of labour control had been characterised by "fiscal drift', leaving Britain with "one of the largest structural budgets deficits in the developed world".
Not a perfect start to Gordon Brown's week.
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15 comments:
Yes, I entirely agree.
Probably the ONLY Labour politician I have any time for.
Ditto to what Irene says, SR.
I agree Irene. But of course labour have side-lined him.
Don't you think the shunning of Mr Field shows the mentality of the labour party WFW? Tinges of Moscow perhaps?
Field is one of the examples which exemplify just how much of a root and branch change is needed to get the governance of this country back on track.
In England he's part of a tiny choir in the wilderness struggling for their voices to be heard and heeded.
Scotland has got a larger choir; they can even chorus an anthem that the keepers of the wilderness and their media scribes are desperately trying to ignore as the sound of silence.
Sing louder Scotland - you have an anthem of hope, opportunity and freedom to suppress the annoying tinnitus of exploitation and oppression.
Frank Field is a truly decent man. His constituency is lucky too, because he actually cares about the people he represents - they know him and they respect him.
FF for speaker.
Field is a Tory in all but name.
If he was as principled as he likes to pretend (for 'principled' read babbling whatever the Express, the Sun, the Daily Star are printing this week) then he would have resigned from the Labour party years ago.
He's been publicly touting himself for a position in any future Cameron government. The guy is without shame.
Thankfully we have a larger choir RA, but we could do with a few more soloists.
I was told some years ago Mrs R, he always put his constituents first, regardless of other commitments. It shows right enough.
Well he's never going to get anywhere in labour Rightwinggit, and I'm positive he'd do so much better than the present incumbent.
I disagree William, he's a labour man, or what used to be referred to as a labour man.
Frank field in the Labour party since when you just made that up....
Frank field is in the Frank field party.........a party of one with no room for any others
here he is on a bus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JISeCvwYbMQ
Frank field in the Labour party since when you just made that up....
Frank field is in the Frank field party.........a party of one with no room for any others
here he is on a bus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JISeCvwYbMQ
Thank you for the link Niko. I'm sure Gordon will be visiting for tea to give you his thanks.
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