Friday, November 10, 2006

The day interest rates went up by five per cent...

Hysterical headlines in today’s media demonstrate how quickly we have become used to record low interest rates.

“Mortgage misery as interest rates hit 5 pc” screams today’s Daily Telegraph on news that interest rates have risen by one quarter of one per cent.

Like millions, I remember the day a few years ago when a Tory Chancellor - advised by one David Cameron - raised interest rates by five per cent in one day, leading to crippling 17 per cent mortgage rates.

That was real mortgage misery.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the History lesson. What next? WWII? The Thirty Years War? The Battle of Cannae? People have tired of hearing excuses from Labour, and no amount of horror stories from the distant past will save their incompetent necks now.

Anonymous said...

Labours problem is they have no long term vision for our country.The public no longer believes a word they hear and whether that is down to Iraq or the shambles in the home office it matters not.Conservatives lost power for one reason - they screwed up on the economy in one day and public support for them was wiped out in one day.Sitting Governments are always voted out because of incompetence,deciet and lying to the electorate.Labour have committed the same sins and they will (as sure as night follows day) recieve the same punishment - and deservedly so.

Anonymous said...

Phil, Labours problem is they do not look forward they just harp on that its someboby else who is to blame.Your party have been in power now for 10 years! You should look in the mirror sometime and review who is to blame for your party's failures and not blame previous governments who too did not grasp the nettle

Anonymous said...

Who was it that once said that "An economy built on borrowed money is built on borrowed time."

New insolvency figures published recently show a record 27,644 people in England and Wales went insolvent during the summer alone.

fairdealphil said...

Geoffrey:

The failed economic policies of the last Tory Government created the two worst post-war recessions.

By 1997, the country was spending more on national debt repayments than we were on education and health together.

Thanks to tough decisions by Labour, the UK economy has been stablised.

We now have record employment levels, low interest and mortgage rates...and Tories lecturing Labour on borrowing and economic competence...

You'll be telling us we need Prudence next...

Lol.

fairdealphil said...

anonymous:

raising interest rates to five per cent isn't failure.

raising them five per cent in one day is.

Anonymous said...

Phil - As I said the Conservatives lost the election because of black wednesday - they were no longer competent to run the economy and the seeds were sown for defeat.For Labour Iraq and the shambles at the Home Office will be equally destructive come the next election.Your attempt to constantly try and say that the Conservatives today are the same as they were in 1997 simply doesnt wash with people outside of your party faithful.If Labour want to stay in power they need to stop denial on issues such as Iraq and simply admit to what everyone out here knows which is that Iraq was an illegal war and that certain parts of government are incompetent.If Labour sacked a few rubbish civil servants and incompetent ministers the public faith would begin to be restored.

Anonymous said...

Wrong Phil.

The first recession under the last Conservative Government was caused by union paymasters holding the Callghan Labour government to ransom in 1979 and was no fault of the Conservatives. All they did was pick up the mess you lot left behind.

fairdealphil said...

Geoffrey:

And the cause of the second recession under the last Tory government?

Anonymous said...

Entering the silly ERM. Very obvious. But the Tories got 18 years, and Labour will struggle to make 12.

Anonymous said...

Correct Michael.