Friday, Apr 03, 2009
Nothing to be ashamed of.
The Daily Telegraph: Britain should not fear asking for IMF cash
Britain should not be afraid or ashamed of taking money from the International Monetary Fund, a senior Cabinet minister has told the Daily Telegraph.
Economists have warned that the UK's public finances are in such a bad state there is a real possibility that Britain will seek help from the fund.
Posted by devo @ 09:47 PM (899 views) Add Comment
11 Comments
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2. alan said...
This is a sign that the government is contemplating a bail out from the IMF and is "sounding out" opinion.
If we go to the IMF you can be sure the medicine will not taste nice. Much better for Gordon to pretend he has been "forced into" activities which are a marked change from the ticket on which NuLab was elected. Blame someone else....where have you seen this trick played before?
Please note: "Stephen Timms, the Treasury minister, and Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, said this would remove some of the "stigma" of using the facility". But guys.... there IS a stigma!
Applying to the IMF means you are incompetent....so flipping resign!
3. hpwatcher said...
The UK and UK are absolutely bust, that's pretty clear, so the G20 is all about appearances....oh and G Brown winning the next election.
4. tyrellcorporation said...
Utterly gobsmacking and very worrying. The ultimate spin from a new administration who vowed to end spin. It would seem this is softening-up public opinion prior to the event.
5. inflation is eating my savings said...
Agreed, G20 was about appearances 9of many different groups). But don't think these are not significant.
Regarding IMF- if we get high interest rates that's good. But I'm not sure about some of the other strings attached (such as privatisation of stuff that didn't need privatising- railways were a step too far?)
6. str 2007 said...
From the article:-
''But yesterday Simon Johnson, the former IMF chief economist, said: "In the past, you got loans from the IMF when you were facing complete disaster. Now the IMF is going to come in before you get into real trouble.
"Gordon Brown and his ministers, they need help. Your economy is in big trouble."
The IMF have been sending warning shots in our direction for about 3-4 years now. How Brown can stand up and say know-one saw this coming is quite beyond belief.
7. Ken said...
We are being softened up for an IMF bailout. The economic situation is the UK is appalling, so Brown is now trying to spin his way out of the ignominy of going cap in hand to the IMF just like his predecessors did in the seventies.
8. Denis Cooper said...
Personally I doubt that it will come to this, because the government has greatly expanded the limits on its borrowing from private investors by getting the Bank of England to rig the gilts market.
Eg, on Wednesday, the Bank of England created £3.5 billion and bought up existing gilts, while half a mile away in Philpot Lane the Treasury's Debt Management Office sold new gilts also to the value of £3.5 billion.
Unless RBS and Lloyds start making large claims against Darling's idiotic "insurance" - his "Asset Protection Scheme" - which might happen, either because they've deceived him about the toxicity of the insured assets, or because the economic background gets a lot worse:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/4885413/Alistair-Darlings-debt-defying-stunt.html
In that case, the government's projected budget deficit could potentially double, and it would take a lot more than £100 billion's worth of gilts market manipulation to persuade private investors to fund that.
9. stillthinking said...
The IMF must have changed considerably if New Labour are considering an application. Funds have been provided in the past with strict conditions on reining in government spending. Also interesting that the last bank standing is gold backed.
10. Chris said...
This is a softening up of the public to accept an IMF bailout without making it appear that Gordon has trashed the economy, which he has. The IMF though will surely insist on a massive program of government spending cuts. Where will this leave all the public sector workers who have done so well under Brown and would be expected to vote for him?
11. amjidk said...
What does this mean for people with most of their savings in cash? (if they do go to the IMF?) will the pound plummet? time to invest some more of it in gold and commodities?