Finally!

Gordon Brown is poised to announce that spending cuts are going to happen:

The prime minister is due to say it will be necessary to "cut unnecessary spending on low priorities" but will not say where the axe will fall.

Personally, I love the fact that only now will Brown grudgingly talk about cutting "unnecessary" spending. It speaks volumes about his mindset and the mindset of those in his party that only now will they consider cutting unnecessary spending - spending which, against every sensible parameter, should be cut anyway. What with it being unnecessary and all.

Of course, spending cuts have been inevitable since Brown spent billions propping up certain financial institutions, and desirable for a lot longer. The fact that Brown has only just brought himself round to this point of view shows how hopelessly out of touch he is with anything even approaching economic reality. The fact that he has finally caught up with everyone else deserves minor applause. Yet Brown is still refusing to say where these inevitable spending cuts will fall. And at the current rate of accepting the idea of spending cuts, he should have a good idea of where they will fall in about December 2010. By which time - thank Jesus - Brown will no longer be in power...