Bad day for an honest politician
Friday, November 19, 2010 Like the majority of people, I have a job. I haven't had a pay rise for two or three years but during that period (thanks to low interest rates) my mortgage payments have dropped from £800 to £150 - a month. Therefore, I am better off.
OK, he could have qualified his statement to take into account those people unfortunate enough to lose their jobs in the past couple of years, or those not yet on the property ladder and forced to rent, but what Conservative peer Lord Young had to say on the subject was essentially correct.
Today, however, he is being pilloried as a Tory toff and he has been forced by 10 Downing Street to apologise for his "insensitive and inaccurate" remarks.
Insensitive, perhaps (if you don't like the truth), but inaccurate? The Daily Mash, as ever, has the appropriate response HERE.
Simon Clark
When I heard this afternoon that Lord Young had resigned I began to think I might be alone in my opinion. Well, it seems that I'm not - Lord Young is right about post-recession Britain, says IEA think tank . See also What fact did Lord Young get wrong? (Iain Dale's Diary).
I accept, however, that some people have suffered in recent years and they include retired people living off the interest on their savings.
Lord Young's real gaffe was to remind people of the often lampooned expression "You've never had it so good". That was a far bigger mistake than the point he was trying to make.
Reader Comments (7)
True home owners have benifited if they have kept the job.
Savers (generally pensioners) have lost out, big time.
Their are always winners and losers.
As for the pay freeze ,same here.
Public sector pay 3.8% rise this January .
Alright for the lazy and the incompetent then.
Publis sector = lazy + incompetent + overpaid.
Watch the parasites get their pay rise this January.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/7850089/Pay-freeze-wont-kick-in-until-September-2011-for-nearly-1m-public-sector-workers.html
Yep 2% rise this January for the parasites and the Stasi.
Mcgraw, are you trying to make a point by emailing at 17.02? OOps, the timer's out. You maybe emailed at 16.02. Perhaps you've been in work since 7.00am or are you going to claim you are self-employed? Or maybe an OAP just back from taking a bus or train seat from a fare paying passenger?
Merely staing what everyone knows.
Lord Young has since resigned.
Life has been hell for most smokers since July 2007 and so I can't remember a time when we haven't had it so bad. There is more to life than money. NuLab made us miserable. The Coagulation Govt is doing nothing to make us smile.
Reminds me of when "egg-weena" Curry got the boot for telling the truth about salmonella infection in the UK egg supply. People say they don't like politicians telling the truth but as soon as they do tell the truth they are in big trouble - usually with the money markets.