OECD claims UK government can't afford election giveaway
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has today issued a stern statement aimed at Alistair Darling suggesting that the UK economy is in such a dire state that he cannot afford to even contemplate a "pre-election giveaway program". The statement comes after the release of October figures for government finances which were the worst on record and show the true demise of the UK economy and the UK government’s finances. So where does this leave Alistair Darling?
The problem now is that in order to attract as many voters as possible at the next general election Alistair Darling will need to "rob Peter to pay Paul" which could ultimately mean a sting for middle England in favour of those on lower incomes. However, the tricky situation becomes worse because middle England has in effect been the area for election winning votes for Labour in the past. So Alistair Darling now has a very tricky situation on his hand, does he tax high-income earners and force them out of the UK, middle income earners and risk losing their votes or does he avoid the attractions of a pre-election giveaway altogether?
Alistair Darling has experienced many tricky situations during this time that the Treasury but this will be by far and away his most testing.
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