Today's Top Ten UK Must-Reads April 26th 2012

by liamssoft | April 26, 2012 at 02:27 am

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George Osborne, the kamikaze chancellor
Will Hutton, The Guardian

History will be unforgiving about George Osborne's chancellorship. The British economy in May 2010, when he began his term, had just gone through a near-death experience. Its banking system had only 18 months earlier nearly collapsed. The stock of bank lending was, incredibly, worth five times more than Britain's annual output.

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2 George Osborne has run out of excuses as we go into recession again
Ed Balls, Daily Mirror

Yesterday was a Black Wednesday for families, pensioners and businesses across our country as we learned Britain has plunged back into recession. And let’s be clear, this is a recession made in Downing Street by David Cameron and George Osborne.

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3 George Osborne can stop the rot, but only by spending as he slashes
Jeremy Warner, The Daily Telegraph

Whatever the cut and thrust of political discourse, there is at least one thing on which everyone can agree: the performance of the UK economy is a disaster, and on the evidence of the latest GDP figures, one that seems only to be getting worse. We are stuck in a rut and show few signs of escaping.

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4 This political game-changer helps vindicate Labour
Andrew Grice, The Independent

Economically, whether there is a plus or minus sign in front of a 0.2 per cent GDP figure does not make a vast difference. Politically, yesterday's depressing figures might be a game-changer.

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5 The euro’s southern discomfort heads north
Stephen King, The Times (£)

They once prided themselves on being more German than the Germans. The Dutch knew how to run their economy. Hard work, low inflation, modest wage increases, a big balance of payments surplus — these were the hallmarks of Dutch economic success.

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6 Will Rupert and James Murdoch topple David Cameron?
Peter Oborne, The Daily Telegraph

Rupert Murdoch presented an impression of almost otherworldly innocence in Court 73 of the Royal Courts of Justice: harmless, cuddly, a bit forgetful for sure, but nevertheless a man of definite integrity. It was a charming event in its way. But watching this Oxford-educated showman, perhaps appearing for the final time on a public stage, it was easy to forget one important truth.

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7 The Rupert Murdoch we all know
Martin Dunn, The Guardian

It was, in the end, a classic Rupert Murdoch performance: self-deprecating, sometimes humorous, occasionally humble and self-serving. It also illustrated why Rupert, even at 81, is as intimidating as ever.

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8 Cameron can't easily dismiss the toxic trail to Murdoch's bid
Steve Richards, The Independent

We are living through a very British revolution. In the messy transition from one era to the next, the old familiar policies and strategies do not work any longer. David Cameron and George Osborne are struggling to stay afloat not because they are suddenly useless, but because they are trapped by the past.

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9 Hunt was naive. But so are those hunting him
Camilla Cavendish, The Times (£)

Few sights make me more uncomfortable than watching a minister being hunted down. I’ve seen it several times since I became a journalist and no matter whether you like or loathe the individual, the raw process is agonising to behold.

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10 Pushing the posh out of Downing St
Robert Shrimsley, The Financial Times (£)

David Cameron and George Osborne have suffered the damning political criticism of being described as “posh boys” by one of their own MPs. This assault, with its notions of position through privilege and connections and conveying an image of being out of touch with ordinary people, is one of the most toxic charges that can be levelled against a British leader.

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