Mike's Minute: The GDP number is the biggest win for the Government

If you accept that the Government are struggling in the polls, you may well accept the general notion that part of what is driving that is the lack of runs on the board. 

Perhaps an impatience is frustrating some of us. 

We voted to get rid of the last lot on the understanding that things had been wrecked and destroyed, and there was this new lot that were going to put it right. 

The trouble has been, as they have tried to explain, that things like fiscal cliffs were a lot worse than anticipated and the problem with too many voters is we vote and move on, and then when we re-engage, we expect fixes to problems that are more complex than we gave them credit for. 

This Government has announced a lot and changed a lot. But the simple to read “runs on the board” are only starting to trickle through. 

The downturn on crime would be one of them. The police focus on rounding a few people up, so we feel safer on the streets is tangible. 

The targets on emergency housing being met years ahead of schedule is another one. 

Then yesterday the Gross Domestic Product, the GDP, which is surely one of the most important of all. 

It is the economy and the economy is everything. It pays the bills, retires the debt, forks out for the programmes and sets the mood of the nation. 

If you are growing, and as it turns out (thank the good Lord) we are, you are moving forward and moving forward is what gets Governments popular and re-elected. 

Everyone, as in the experts, had the number at anywhere between 0.3% and 0.5%, still importantly in the right direction. 

So the actual figure of 0.7% is better than expected and must be the best of news. 

For a country that has spent more time in recession than virtually anyone, certainly anyone we compare ourselves to in the OECD, this cannot be overstated in terms of importance. 

0.7% surely comes with a sense that there is more where that came from. So maybe, just maybe, we can turn our backs on the dark days, or years, that have dragged this country to places economically it has never really been. 

No, it is not over and, yes, there is much left to do. 

But such a decent and, dare I suggest, better than expected number will tell you that the current Government might have got a grip on the worst of it and turned the tide. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Except that the government are struggling in the polls. You
may well accept the general notion that part of what
is driving that is the lack of runs on the board, perhaps,
and impatience is frustrating some of us. We voted to
get rid of the last lot on the understanding that
things have been wrecked and destroyed and there was this
new lot that we're going to put it right. Trouble
has been as they've tried to explain things. Fiscal cliffs

(00:20):
were a lot worse than anticipated. And the problem with
too many voters is we vote and move on, and
then when we re engage, we expect fixes to problems
that are more complex than we gave them credit for.
So this government has announced a lot, changed a lot,
but the simple to read runs on the board are
only starting to trickle through. The downturn on crime would
be one of them. I would have thought the police
focus on running up a few people so we feel

(00:41):
safer on the streets. That's a tangible Are the targets
on emergency housing being met years ahead of schedule? That's another, surely,
And yesterday the Gross Domestic Product the GDP surely one
of the most important of all it is the economy,
and the economy is everything pays the bills retires that
it forks out for the program sets the mood of
the nation. If you, and as it turns out, think
the good lord we are you are moving forward, and

(01:03):
moving forward is what gets popular governments and governments re elected. Everyone,
as in the experts had the number at anywhere between
zero point three and zero point five percent, importantly, of course,
in the right direction, in the positive. So the actual
figure zero point seven is better than expected. It must
be the best of news I would have thought, for
a country that has spent more time in recession than
virtually anyone, certainly anyone we compare ourselves to anyone in

(01:26):
the OECD. This cannot be overstated in terms of importance.
Zero point seven surely comes with the sense that there
is more where that came from. So maybe, just maybe
we can turn our backs on the dark days or
in our case, dark years, that have dragged this country
to places economically it's never really been. No, it is
not over, and yes there is much to do. But
such a decent, dare I suggest, better than expected number

(01:48):
will tell you the current government might have got a
grip on the worst of it and turn the tide.
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