June 29, 2023 - 3:15pm
Not another one. Added to the roster of podcasts presented by two middle-aged blokes and catered to centrist dads is a new offering on economics presented by the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne and Ed Balls, his opposite number on the Labour benches from 2011-15. The as yet untitled show will likely replicate the success of The Rest Is Politics, in which Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart “disagree agreeably” about current affairs.
Such a format will suit Osborne and Balls. In their post-parliamentary careers, both have found time to sound off in print and on television about the failure of their successors and the disarray of a political atmosphere that rejected their ideas. Brexit. Corbyn. Now they will do hit these targets while hunched over a microphone together, for money. And so recent history pays a visit.
What sermons can Osborne give? With each passing year, his record at the Treasury becomes more tarnished. Through the rear-view mirror Britain sees a lost decade, in which debt ballooned, living standards tanked and inequality widened. A fierce Remainer, Osborne will no doubt use his new podcast to crow about the damage that leaving the EU has done to Britain’s status and prosperity. But austerity was the midwife of Brexit and, even now, the ravages of his chancellorship are being pored over by the Covid-19 inquiry (he denies that austerity exhausted health and social care services, leaving them unprepared for crises).
Balls isn’t much better. As Shadow Chancellor he accepted Osborne’s framing of economic arguments and promised to make similar cuts — albeit with a kinder demeanour. This shut down legitimate opposition to austerity and kindled the energy for a Left-wing backlash, resulting in Jeremy Corbyn’s takeover in 2015. Remember too that it was the stubborn refusal of Corbyn’s leadership rivals Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham to oppose Osborne’s war on welfare that lost them the Labour leadership election in 2015. Their decision to abstain on the Tories’ substantial benefit cuts, where Corbyn voted firmly against, doomed their chances. Not entryism by Trotskyites: just political cowardice.
Like their analogues Campbell and Stewart, Osborne and Balls present themselves in their podcast as political opponents, or “frenemies”. They seem to believe that the flat yard of ideological turf they occupy is in fact a rolling, biodiverse meadow. It is not. There is a fencepost at one end marked “opinions found in the comment pages of the Times” and one at the other marked “opinions found in the comment pages of the Observer”.
They will not — and cannot — stray beyond these. All else is extremism, lunacy, and confusion. Given this, it is odd that their podcast promises to focus on “economic ideas”, an area in which both are hardly a fount of imagination. Don’t waste your time — these men of the past have little to say about the future.
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SubscribeLionel Striver has a great piece in today’s Spectator.
Here is her main point:
The article goes on to explain that we have only managed to build 180k houses per year for the last decade (the average was lower for the decade before that).
This is why half the country is now priced out of home ownership.
But who was in charge for most of this disastrous 25-year period?
George Osborne and Ed Balls, that’s bloody who!
Lionel Shriver not Striver, as I wrote.
Both notorious MP’s expenses scandal troughers who flipped their own principal primary residence nominations with HMRC to dodge CGT (Balls multiple times if I remember correctly). Of course, there was nothing “wrong” with any of that …
If I remember rightly Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper were both individually claiming different primary residences to give them more houses to flip. And still she is giving it the old holier-than-thou act in parliament!
At least she didn’t eat a piece of birthday cake, though. So no serious wrongdoing.
If I remember rightly Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper were both individually claiming different primary residences to give them more houses to flip. And still she is giving it the old holier-than-thou act in parliament!
At least she didn’t eat a piece of birthday cake, though. So no serious wrongdoing.
Spot on. Just the thought of this ghastly pair, bloviating from the bunker of their armour-plated complacency – bleagh. Feel I’m about to lose my lunch.
Lionel Shriver not Striver, as I wrote.
Both notorious MP’s expenses scandal troughers who flipped their own principal primary residence nominations with HMRC to dodge CGT (Balls multiple times if I remember correctly). Of course, there was nothing “wrong” with any of that …
Spot on. Just the thought of this ghastly pair, bloviating from the bunker of their armour-plated complacency – bleagh. Feel I’m about to lose my lunch.
Lionel Striver has a great piece in today’s Spectator.
Here is her main point:
The article goes on to explain that we have only managed to build 180k houses per year for the last decade (the average was lower for the decade before that).
This is why half the country is now priced out of home ownership.
But who was in charge for most of this disastrous 25-year period?
George Osborne and Ed Balls, that’s bloody who!
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which“.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which“.
Excellent article. This in particular is priceless:
“They seem to believe that the flat yard of ideological turf they occupy is in fact a rolling, biodiverse meadow. It is not. There is a fencepost at one end marked “opinions found in the comment pages of the Times” and one at the other marked “opinions found in the comment pages of the Observer”.”
It is indeed another knock-off imitation – rather like you see with reaily TV programmes and TV talent shows.
In technology, there’s a well-know phenomenon called the “Osborne effect”:
“The Osborne effect is a social phenomenon of customers canceling or deferring orders for the current, soon-to-be-obsolete product as an unexpected drawback of a company’s announcing a future product prematurely. It is an example of cannibalization.
The term alludes to the Osborne Computer Corporation, whose second product did not become available until more than a year after it was announced. The company’s subsequent bankruptcy was widely blamed on reduced sales after the announcement.”
I suggest there’s an analagous political “Osborne effect”. When George Osborne tells you that voting for Brexit will result in an immediate recession and house price crash, you immediately disbelieve him and do it anyway with even greater determination. Also known as the “Obama efect” (“back of the queue” anyone ?) and the “Blair effect”.
Excellent article. This in particular is priceless:
“They seem to believe that the flat yard of ideological turf they occupy is in fact a rolling, biodiverse meadow. It is not. There is a fencepost at one end marked “opinions found in the comment pages of the Times” and one at the other marked “opinions found in the comment pages of the Observer”.”
It is indeed another knock-off imitation – rather like you see with reaily TV programmes and TV talent shows.
In technology, there’s a well-know phenomenon called the “Osborne effect”:
“The Osborne effect is a social phenomenon of customers canceling or deferring orders for the current, soon-to-be-obsolete product as an unexpected drawback of a company’s announcing a future product prematurely. It is an example of cannibalization.
The term alludes to the Osborne Computer Corporation, whose second product did not become available until more than a year after it was announced. The company’s subsequent bankruptcy was widely blamed on reduced sales after the announcement.”
I suggest there’s an analagous political “Osborne effect”. When George Osborne tells you that voting for Brexit will result in an immediate recession and house price crash, you immediately disbelieve him and do it anyway with even greater determination. Also known as the “Obama efect” (“back of the queue” anyone ?) and the “Blair effect”.
I think your advice, not to waste time listening to these failed has beens , is good and I will follow it.
You got to laugh. No mention of all the failed Brexiteers with their GB News shows or Daily Mail columns. Just the latest bit of UnHerd red meat. Come on at least make it less obvious you have to chuck a bone now and then.
I think the difference is GB News (etc) makes no bones about what it is and who it’s for – it revels in being biased, populist and trashy. The ‘Centrist Dad’s’ referred to here – two cheeks of the same backside of contemporary British politics – present themselves as the grown-ups in the room. The people of natural authority. The no-point-disagreeing-with-us brigade.
You probably see yourself as UnHerd’s resident dissenter. Are you, perchance, a Centrist Dad?
All news channels are biased. The most basic level of bias is the BBC’s preferred technique of “news by omission”.
Some examples:
1) Reporting Carol Cadwalldr’s supposed “win” vs Aaron Banks – but no mention whatever of her final catastrophic defeat and admission that she made it all up (i.e. lied – yes, I think we can quite safely call it that now).
2) Not reporting Nigel Farage winning news presenter of the year.
There are countless other examples.
I can deal with bias. What most of us can’t stand is bias masquerading as impartiality.
Rod Liddle claimed yesterday that BBC News never mentioned the incident of the cat-identifying child, the two brave schoolgirls and the lunatic teacher at Rye College. It was the biggest story in the country for a week and was spontaneously brought up in conversation by several people I talked to. But the publicly-funded “envy of the world” news channel apparently didn’t mention it. (I can’t confirm as I never consume BBC output – not good for my health).
Biggest story? Was it/were they? Never heard of them and I cover quite a bit of multi-media.
You need to get out a bit more if you don’t mind my saying and hear people worrying much more about cost of living, mortgage rises, waits to see a doctor etc. Oh and there’s European War going on too by the way.
Jeez cat identifying child – almost certainly a spoof but one born every day.
I was out all weekend – at a hotel for a 50th birthday celebration. Here were the news stories that were discussed with me over the course of the weekend.
Meghan and Harry (obvs)
The cat/child incident
The submarine
Levi Bellfield getting married in prison!
The Wagner coup attempt
The fact that there are no cheap supermarkets anymore
I was out all weekend – at a hotel for a 50th birthday celebration. Here were the news stories that were discussed with me over the course of the weekend.
Meghan and Harry (obvs)
The cat/child incident
The submarine
Levi Bellfield getting married in prison!
The Wagner coup attempt
The fact that there are no cheap supermarkets anymore
Biggest story? Was it/were they? Never heard of them and I cover quite a bit of multi-media.
You need to get out a bit more if you don’t mind my saying and hear people worrying much more about cost of living, mortgage rises, waits to see a doctor etc. Oh and there’s European War going on too by the way.
Jeez cat identifying child – almost certainly a spoof but one born every day.
Farage been one of the most regular Panel members ever on BBC Question Time, way out of proportion to the political parties with seats. I think there are/were a couple of long serving MPs with more guest slots (e.g Ken Clarke) but Farage has the greatest rate per annum last decade. Hardly the BBC ignoring him is it. You need to be a bit less ‘woe is me’ about such stuff.
Fact is he’s had a disproportionate amount of media time, and many of our problems now accordingly arise.
Rod Liddle claimed yesterday that BBC News never mentioned the incident of the cat-identifying child, the two brave schoolgirls and the lunatic teacher at Rye College. It was the biggest story in the country for a week and was spontaneously brought up in conversation by several people I talked to. But the publicly-funded “envy of the world” news channel apparently didn’t mention it. (I can’t confirm as I never consume BBC output – not good for my health).
Farage been one of the most regular Panel members ever on BBC Question Time, way out of proportion to the political parties with seats. I think there are/were a couple of long serving MPs with more guest slots (e.g Ken Clarke) but Farage has the greatest rate per annum last decade. Hardly the BBC ignoring him is it. You need to be a bit less ‘woe is me’ about such stuff.
Fact is he’s had a disproportionate amount of media time, and many of our problems now accordingly arise.
‘Resident dissenter’ or ‘Centrist Dad’…hmm you’ve given me a dilemma there BJ. Am I allowed to be both?
‘j watson’ (peace be upon him) is the Platonic form of the Centrist Dad, living in a pristine 1997. Quietly confident in the absolute rectitude of his ideas, sentiments and intuitions. His toleration of the
ungrateful hordes of plebsless enlightened, though admirable, only stretches so far before he must gently remind them of their errors. In the decades to come his type may one day be reduced to a single breeding pair.May Almighty Blair bless ‘j watson’ and all his works; may the Merciful Blair preserve him from his enemies; may the most Compassionate Blair heap treasures upon his most honourable family.
I can see this Centrist Dad thing may stick McGroan. Could be worse. Grandkids like it already.
Keep it up, this is enjoyable. Now there would be a good podcast, McGloan and Centrist Dad, at least you’d get a difference of opinion.
It would be a signal honour to meet one of al-Blairhuddīn, those who adhere to the pristine sunnah of Blair.
One day at Old Queen Street, if Blair wills it.
It would be a signal honour to meet one of al-Blairhuddīn, those who adhere to the pristine sunnah of Blair.
One day at Old Queen Street, if Blair wills it.
Keep it up, this is enjoyable. Now there would be a good podcast, McGloan and Centrist Dad, at least you’d get a difference of opinion.
I can see this Centrist Dad thing may stick McGroan. Could be worse. Grandkids like it already.
All news channels are biased. The most basic level of bias is the BBC’s preferred technique of “news by omission”.
Some examples:
1) Reporting Carol Cadwalldr’s supposed “win” vs Aaron Banks – but no mention whatever of her final catastrophic defeat and admission that she made it all up (i.e. lied – yes, I think we can quite safely call it that now).
2) Not reporting Nigel Farage winning news presenter of the year.
There are countless other examples.
I can deal with bias. What most of us can’t stand is bias masquerading as impartiality.
‘Resident dissenter’ or ‘Centrist Dad’…hmm you’ve given me a dilemma there BJ. Am I allowed to be both?
‘j watson’ (peace be upon him) is the Platonic form of the Centrist Dad, living in a pristine 1997. Quietly confident in the absolute rectitude of his ideas, sentiments and intuitions. His toleration of the
ungrateful hordes of plebsless enlightened, though admirable, only stretches so far before he must gently remind them of their errors. In the decades to come his type may one day be reduced to a single breeding pair.May Almighty Blair bless ‘j watson’ and all his works; may the Merciful Blair preserve him from his enemies; may the most Compassionate Blair heap treasures upon his most honourable family.
Nigel Farage – now officially best news presenter (TRICS award earlier this week). As voted by real people and not media insiders. Not bad for a novice. But I guess that also says something about the standard of the “professional” news presenters, doesn’t it ? AS does the puerile, childish reaction of some of them. Another British closed shop heading for the scrap heap.
Still, I guess that makes him a “failure” !
Oh good grief, yes by the…guess who…the Daily Mail TaDa.
Groan
And whether Farage a failure a moot-point but he certainly feels his life’s work – Brexit, has been.
By ordinary people who made the effort to vote. You could have too.
Nigel Farage won because enough people thought he was better than the others. Who’s to say they’re wrong ?
You’re in denial here. Ignore the voters when you don’t like what they’re saying because they’re “bigots” or shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they’re “too old” (so said Vince Cable – who’s also “too old”) or “deplorables”. Because that strategy’s worked really well so far hasn’t it ?
I’m sure you’ll insist you’re a democrat. But you really need to do a better job of walking the talk.
And whether Farage a failure a moot-point but he certainly feels his life’s work – Brexit, has been.
By ordinary people who made the effort to vote. You could have too.
Nigel Farage won because enough people thought he was better than the others. Who’s to say they’re wrong ?
You’re in denial here. Ignore the voters when you don’t like what they’re saying because they’re “bigots” or shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they’re “too old” (so said Vince Cable – who’s also “too old”) or “deplorables”. Because that strategy’s worked really well so far hasn’t it ?
I’m sure you’ll insist you’re a democrat. But you really need to do a better job of walking the talk.
Oh good grief, yes by the…guess who…the Daily Mail TaDa.
Groan
I think the difference is GB News (etc) makes no bones about what it is and who it’s for – it revels in being biased, populist and trashy. The ‘Centrist Dad’s’ referred to here – two cheeks of the same backside of contemporary British politics – present themselves as the grown-ups in the room. The people of natural authority. The no-point-disagreeing-with-us brigade.
You probably see yourself as UnHerd’s resident dissenter. Are you, perchance, a Centrist Dad?
Nigel Farage – now officially best news presenter (TRICS award earlier this week). As voted by real people and not media insiders. Not bad for a novice. But I guess that also says something about the standard of the “professional” news presenters, doesn’t it ? AS does the puerile, childish reaction of some of them. Another British closed shop heading for the scrap heap.
Still, I guess that makes him a “failure” !
You got to laugh. No mention of all the failed Brexiteers with their GB News shows or Daily Mail columns. Just the latest bit of UnHerd red meat. Come on at least make it less obvious you have to chuck a bone now and then.