How ridiculous: Tories quibble over deficit figure quoted by John McDonnell
John McDonnell: The fact that he quoted a deficit figure at all, in 2017, highlights the failure of Conservative economic policy [Image: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA].
(As I work well into the night, the Today programme is broadcast a little too early in the morning for me, so all my information is from others.)
Apparently, Mr McDonnell quoted a figure for the national deficit that put it at £70 billion, and certain (Tory) people have quibbled with it.
John McDonnell gets the deficit wrong by £18bn. When asked by @bbcnickrobinson, said £70bn, actually £52bn #BBCR4today
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) May 16, 2017
Oh, and some who should know better…
He said the estimate was £68-70 billion. Which is wrong.
— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) May 16, 2017
The simple fact is, he quoted the last actual figure, for 2015-16, which was £70 billion. The £52 billion figure claimed by others is an estimate for 2016-17 which has not yet been confirmed.
Quoting the size of the actual deficit in 2015/16 not the estimate in 2016/17. But I know you have your agenda. https://t.co/3sO50GuIzp
— Tweets by Sue (@marthasydenham) May 16, 2017
If a politician used either figure it would be perfectly legit. Reality is he used documented ones rather than provisional ones > https://t.co/gflMyvPzcG
— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) May 16, 2017
The simple fact that he was quoting a deficit figure at all, when – as we should all remember – the Conservatives promised us all in 2010 that the country would be in surplus by 2015, two years ago.
That there's even a deficit figure to quote in 2017 after continuous cuts to public spending is a damning indictment of Conservative failure
— Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) May 16, 2017
The simple fact is that the Conservatives have borrowed more money in the last seven years than every Labour government that ever took office, plunging us all into the deepest debt the UK has ever experienced – and, if they return to office after June 8, there will be more to come.
The simple fact is that the Conservatives want to turn the UK into a ‘zombie’ economy, forcing the poor to work hard for derisory pay that is highly taxed, in order to pay the interest on the debts that they and their banker friends have racked up.
You won’t hear that on the mass media news because the Establishment suits who designed this programme of persecution don’t want to scare you. You might vote against them.
Labour has always been the party that paid down the debt.
Labour has always been the party of economic responsibility. I know that runs against what you’ve been told, but it is the truth. All you have to do is research the facts.
And now, Labour has the plan to restore prosperity to the UK once again. And the Tories, and the mass media, want to rubbish it.
Perhaps you want to believe the lies. It’s easier, after all. No effort implied – you just fall asleep in front of the TV news and vote for your local empty-suit Tory when the time comes.
But isn’t it better to make an informed choice?
If so, then please do the sensible thing.
Vote Labour on June 8.
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When we say, poverty is a political policy that is a fact. The last Oxfam report pointed out that 85 individuals owned £66.8 Trillion between them and that it would only take a matter of billions to eradicate poverty.
So why aren’t all theses multi billionaires clubbing together to help people from starving to death, like we do ever time there is a crisis of humanity. We readily dip into our own personal reserves to meet those crises, so why don’t they do something permanent to eradicate it altogether.
The answer is, because that is the kind of world they want.
The other truth which actually relates directly here at home, is again the establishment deliberately create the conditions of poverty, because they profit from it.
Most people don’t know or understand that our money system means that our country can never ever go broke, because like the USA, Japan, Canada and Australia we have a fiat money system. That means that all the money we have in circulation was printed out of thin air. It was issued as debt by the private banks, so that every penny you earned and have in your bank account, was borrowed into existence by some-one else.
That means our government doesn’t have to sit around waiting for some benevolent multi billionaire to come along to create jobs, so that they can get even richer exploiting our talents, we can issue that money wherever and whenever it is needed.
We can spend directly into the economy to create real jobs with real wages and that is what the Tories and their multi billionaire friends don’t want you to know.
Inflation is controlled by taxation and interest rate policies, spend money in and if needed tax out to regulate the economy.
There are genuine sources of information that explain how money enters the economy and why Jeremy Corbyn’s investment bank is so important to rebuild our country. Google “Positive money” and look up their videos where they explain their methods of paying for public expenditure, but my favourite source of information is Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) from the University of Missouri in Kansas City.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bXpOUYrr1c
I would trust John McDonnell’s figure more than that smart arse Nick Robinson’s one. Both figures are beyond most people’s ability to comprehend anyway.