So Teresa May indicated yesterday ...

[CretinWatcher]

... that her prospective government would not try to reach a budget surplus.
Does that mean that we have now abandoned trying to reduce the country's debt to GDP ratio which stands at 90%?
Looks like they're happy for it to go over 100%

Also with the weak pound the trade deficit is bound to rise sharply ...

The room for manoevre here is being cut by the day ....

[MrMarkyMark]

... that her prospective government would not try to reach a budget surplus.
Does that mean that we have now abandoned trying to reduce the country's debt to GDP ratio which stands at 90%?
Looks like they're happy for it to go over 100%

Also with the weak pound the trade deficit is bound to rise sharply ...

The room for manoevre here is being cut by the day ....

Indeed. Would have been political suicide to suggest following Osbornes course though.

[Milkyway]

Well, that seems to be the recent trend... Starting with Renege and break, possibly completely disown all promises made during the BREXIT campaign on NHS, immigration, etc.

Now osbourne has also confirmed on the abandoning bit that you say Theresa May said yesterday.

[CretinWatcher]

Indeed. Would have been political suicide to suggest following Osbornes course though.

Yes I understand the political imperative but on a macroeconomic level it's quite dangerous - any sharp shocks or need for a bailout mean debt could climb into Italian territory.
The more I think through the implications of this the less I see any positive outcomes

One of the reasons I voted for the Tories was for sound fiscal policy.
Unlike most on here I understood the need for increased taxes in light of the broader picture.
Now it looks like we'll have increased taxes and spending cuts just to survive - the reducing debt goal has been abandoned.

[fullyautomatix]

Why would they need to reduce the debt and trade deficit ? What the nation needs at this moment is state support. We need to borrow more when the interest rates are low, spend huge on infrastructure, increase benefits ( its been cut to be bone by Gidiot), increase free housing and increase public sector spending by at least 40%. That is the only way to prosper and Tories wont do it and only Corbyn has that vision and the mandate to do it.

[MrMarkyMark]

Yes I understand the political imperative but on a macroeconomic level it's quite dangerous - any sharp shocks or need for a bailout mean debt could climb into Italian territory.
The more I think through the implications of this the less I see any positive outcomes

That's why I said indeed, I was also concuring with your final two points

[vetran]

Why would they need to reduce the debt and trade deficit ? What the nation needs at this moment is state support. We need to borrow more when the interest rates are low, spend huge on infrastructure, increase benefits ( its been cut to be bone by Gidiot), increase free housing and increase public sector spending by at least 40%. That is the only way to prosper and Tories wont do it and only Corbyn has that vision and the mandate to do it.

Depends which benefits you are talking about. Not sure about increasing free housing, I think discounted according to needs housing is the most sensible. Public sector spending tends to be wasted.

Agree investing out of recession is probably best.

[CretinWatcher]

Agree investing out of recession is probably best.

You mean spending on infrastructure projects, I suppose. The roads could certainly do with improvement.
Problem is you can't do it with a debt-GDP ratio of 100%.
Unless you want to become like Italy fiscally.
That's what I meant in my first post - there's no room for manouevre.

[GB9]

The one downside to Brexit is that it has given Gidiot a get out of jail free card.

I doubt he was going to get anywhere near a surplus without tax rises and further cuts. Now all he has to do is say '"I can't achieve what I claimed because you didn't do what I told you".

Even now he is claiming there are clear signs of economic shock as a result of the vote. And this is in a week. I wonder what they are?

[CretinWatcher]

Even now he is claiming there are clear signs of economic shock as a result of the vote. And this is in a week. I wonder what they are?

You don't think the pound falling to record lows is serious?
You do understand that will enlarge our already "highest since records began" trade deficit?
When the pound last fell in the shock of 2008 there was no huge rise in exports, because the overall shock to the system meant people round the world didn't buy stuff.
Same thing happening here.