The SNP: Tory Cheerleaders

£30 Billion More CUTS!!

Sorry, wrong! Fuck me, actually it's actually £74 Billion.

So what is really going on? Have Labour voted through CUTS? 
Absolutely not. What has been laid before Parliament is a Charter. That's right. A Charter. No civil servants are rushing off implementing cuts based on it. The Tory/Lib Dem coalition doesn't need a charter to do that (and strangely enough why do it when we're right at the end of a five year parliament - there's a clue as to what this is about).

Get this from the Institute of Economic Affairs: "No parliament can bind its successor and today’s Charter for Budget Responsibility is no exception. Acts such these are of little interest to the general public.... Politicians should stop trying to play political games and just get on .....”

So the Coalition laid a worthless paper before the Commons, knowing that it couldn't be defeated and what did they hope Labour would do? They hoped they'd vote against it.
Why? A simple Tory narrative: Labour are to blame for the economic mess and look, they still can't be trusted; they'd get the country even further into debt.

By trooping through the yes lobby, Labour effectively shot the Tory fox.* It was notable the following day that none of the broadsheet press gave the vote more than a cursory mention.

But that doesn't stop the Nats though. Repeat: it's all Labour's fault! Cuts! Austerity! That Labour bastard Osborne and that Labour bastard Danny Alexander! Labour! Bastard! 



*And note that even signing up to balance the cyclically adjusted current budget in three years and reduce debt as a share of national income in two years, Labour will still have £50bn more to spend than the Tories by £2019/20