Osborne Shoots Himself In The Foot.

When the LIBOR fixing scandal hit the front pages George Osborne began immediately to take action. Unfortunately he did not swing into action as a Chancellor should - trying to get to the bottom of the wrong-doing and put a stop to it - he swung into action as the unthinking, knee-jerk reacting Tory numbskull that he always was. Acting on an unfounded whisper that Ed Balls was somehow involved in the scandal and without bothering to check his facts he launched a campaign of vilification against his rival that came unstuck before it even began. While Bob Diamond made it crystal clear that he felt no pressure from either Ed Balls or Gordon Brown, George Osborne was feverishly trying to dig up dirt against the Labour party amongst leading City officials. What he found was nothing. With little choice he started to back-pedal like mad, trying to make out that he hadn't actually accused Ed Balls of anything, despite the fact that it was in black and white in the "Spectator." Now David Cameron has distanced himself, recognising that Osborne's attacks were motivated by personal animosity and have no foundation in truth. Senior Tories are distancing themselves as well, making it clear that Osborne is now regarded as an idiot and a liability to his party. Yet, as Tories have told the "Guardian", George Osborne still doesn't realise how spectacularly wrong his attack has gone. If the ridiculous budget and the numerous u-turns he's been forced into were not bad enough, this ill-considered campaign has now finally revealed Osborne for what he is - a spoilt rich brat without a brain in his head.

Neoliberalism Comes Of The Rails.

The idea of neoliberal economics seems to have run its course in Britain as the system it created is submerged under a tide of scandal and criminality. People are getting really, really tired of being pissed on and being then told its raining. The catalyst for the change in thinking that has taken place was the sheer criminal greed displayed by the banks who shouted loudly for deregulation and then indulged themselves in a law-breaking and common-sense-defying gambling spree that wrecked the world economy. The present scandal over the Libor is simply the tip of a very dirty iceberg and demonstrates quite clearly what the "News in Shorts" has been saying for some time - these people are criminals and should be thrown into prison where they belong. Despite the mounting evidence, however, the present government has tried to forcefeed the country with ever more unpalatable and ultimately self-defeating neoliberal nostrums. Fortunaterly there are growing signs that the tide is beginning to turn at last. After decades in which the Labour party seemed as much in thrall to the likes of Margaret Thatcher as the Tories themselves, socialist principles such as fairness and regulation are making a comeback. In London the council in Islington has refused to take advantage of Eric Pickles offer to allow them to hike council-house rents up to the astronomical levels charged by greedy private landlords and deny tenants any security of tenure. More telling still is that the Labour party is actively considering a renationalism of the railways, removing the private companies, who have plundered the transport system in their quest for ever-growing profits, once more from the equation. Only two years ago, under the shadow of Thatcher and the neoliberal economic nonsense, that would have been unthinkable. Hopefully it will only be a matter of time before the same sea-change happens with regard to the utilities - water, gas and electricity. Meanwhile the Tory party is descending into complete chaos as right-wingers continue to feed Cameron with soundbite policies that both terrify and disgust the electorate and George Osborne completes his latest u-turn, while the Chancellor now has a new nickname amongst Tory backbenchers - "Bastard."