Medicine Man

Gordon Brown, like some demented medicine man whose snake oil has been found out to be a con, does the rounds this morning telling anyone that will listen that he is following his own fiscal rules. The sad reality is that this government has no more wriggle room. His unfunded give-away means he is now at his borrowing limit of 40% of GDP, having spent £1.2 trillion additionally in the last 10 years - instead of retiring debt to provide for any downturn. The Treasury is now looking into the abyss faced with the double whammy of rocketing inflation and declining growth, with no remaining fiscal discretion. Time to "sell in May and go away"!