Bashar

The Tories were just saying what people wanted to hear.

I'm not convinced - I think Cameron basically did believe, like Brown and Bernanke, in the 'Great Moderation'. I don't buy into the idea that 5 years ago Cameron was intent on smashing the state. Much of what is actually happening now in government is minister-lead - Andrew Lansley told him that Health was his department and he'll run it as he sees fit. Other ministers have said similar things to him.

That's why, when the Tories accuse Brown of not mending the roof when the sun was shining, they are indeed correct. Rather than cutting back on public expenditure during the boom and building up a reserve through modest tax increases, he actually cut taxes and increased public spending.

 

So now that the lean times are here again, there's nothing in the cupboard.

This is true, but David Cameron was broadly supportive of these levels of spending at the time. And as for Ben Bernanke:

As a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 20, 2004, Bernanke gave a speech: The Great Moderation, where he postulated that we are in a new era, where modern macroeconomic policy has decreased the volatility of the business cycle to the point that it should no longer be a central issue in economics.

Before 'deficit denial', there was an seemingly universal belief that economic cycles had been transcended. So basically anyone who was involved monetary/fiscal policy in the last few years is tainted, including much of the Tory-lead frontbench.

Do you expect them to obey the speed limits when they are pursuing criminals

Frankly put, it would probably be a lot better if they did. Police end up causing all sorts of road accidents, a friend of my family lost part of her foot a few months back to a speeding police van.

I remember when Davina worked MTV Europe in the 90s, there was a definite sexiness to her - if only we knew the horrors to come.