Treasury minister Laura Trott challenged over misleading government debt claims — “I’m amazed that you don’t know that debt is rising,” says BBC interviewer
by marketrent
Treasury minister Laura Trott challenged over misleading government debt claims — “I’m amazed that you don’t know that debt is rising,” says BBC interviewer
by marketrent
10 comments
Interview: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68250020
*According to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November outlook, debt excluding the Bank of England is forecast to climb as a percentage of national income from 89 per cent in 2023/24 to 92.8 per cent in 2028/29.*
*But ministers have continued to insist it is reducing as a share of GDP since then, despite warnings that this could be misleading.*
*In an interview on Thursday, chief secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott was challenged after repeating the claim.*
*After a pause, Ms Trott appeared to start saying “I’m not sure”, to which BBC Radio 4’s PM presenter Evan Davis replied: “This is really basic, I’m amazed that you don’t know that debt is rising.”*
*Asked how the public can have confidence in the economy following the senior Treasury minister’s remarks, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: “Debt is on schedule to fall as measured by the independent Office of Budget Responsibility, which they’ve affirmed at the last autumn statement that the Chancellor gave.”*
*The Prime Minister’s insistence on Friday that debt is “on schedule” to fall is slightly different from what he said last November, when he claimed it had already reduced.*
*The UK statistics watchdog criticised his previous remarks, saying they “may have undermined trust in the Government’s use of statistics and quantitative analysis in this area”.*
*Chairman of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) Sir Robert Chote said the average person “would likely have assumed that he was claiming that debt was already falling or that the Government’s policy decisions had lowered it at the fiscal events – neither of which is the case”.*
These cabinet reshuffles are mad. What made them give a cyclist keys to the treasury?
Laura Trott seems to be in the news for being a moron every day – is she some sort of government sacrificial lamb.
The interview is excruciating if you know maths.
And by maths I mean primary school maths…
Are these people really the most intelligent politicians we can come up with?
This whole story is problematic for a number of reasons. Obviously it’s frustrating that Trott doesn’t seem to understand this but equally we’re talking about a forecast here as if it’s absolutely nailed on odds on cert to happen. Trott isn’t the only one that doesn’t know what she’s on about I think.
Let’s not forget we now have a minister for *Common Sense* who is on a ministerial salary, who has never in her life uttered anything which could remotely be described as sensible and has yet to utter a word in her ministerial capacity!
What a donut.
That said can’t wait to replay 2010s with Labour and obsess over the deficit again instead of actually growing the economy.
In todays news.
BBC interviewer didn’t know that politicians are lying cunts.
Labours u-turn on the green policy doesn’t seem as bad with this in mind. I don’t find it funny how things have changed that the Tories are starting to come across as the party who are bad at this whole economics thing. How the turns have tabled.