The Harsh Truth About Spending Cuts

LabourList has an article up entitled The grim reality of "savage cuts" - you can go read the whole thing if you so wish, but you can probably guess what it is going to be like just by reading the title. It is one long whine from a Labour writer addicted to government spending.

Obviously, as a Libertarian, I have no issue with spending cuts - in fact, I think they are not only essential but also the right thing to do. And I'm not naive enough to think that a LabourList writer is going to understand that point of view - after all increasing government spending is pretty much the Labour party's reason for being. However, I do think that the article in question - like most of the bleating from Labour party types about spending cuts - misses the truth about those cuts.

Because, ladies and gents, the Labour party is the reason why those cuts have to be made.

Had the Labour party not dragged us into two wars that it actually didn't have the will to fight properly, then maybe there'd be enough money to prop up the existing bloated state. Had the Labour party not tried to nationalise the failing sections of the banking sector, maybe the cuts could be small rather than savage. Had the Labour party not fucked up both the economy and, to a large extent, the country as a whole, maybe the bloated state could have lumbered on for a bit under a flabby post-Blairite consensus.

But no - the last Labour government has forced the coalition's hand through its utterly inept dealings when it came to the economy and to spending. So you'll have to forgive me if I feel nauseated by the hypocrisy of a party bemoaning cuts that it made inevitable.

The Labour party needs to go away and think about what went so badly wrong during its 13 years in power, and what it plans to do to prevent history repeating itself if they ever win power again. Until then, they really should show some humility and shut the fuck up.