By
Daily Mail Comment
16:48 EST, 17 May 2012
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16:49 EST, 17 May 2012
Much can change in a week. On Monday, George Osborne accused Germany’s Angela Merkel of destabilising the world’s economy by making the blindingly obvious statement that Greece may soon have to leave the straitjacket of the one-size-fits-all euro.
Yesterday the Chancellor pulled his head out of the sand and, along with the Prime Minister, conceded the eurozone could disintegrate after all – with potentially catastrophic consequences for Britain.
In a similar eureka moment, David Cameron admitted there is more the Government can do to prepare our flat-lining economy for the tumult that is brewing on the continent.
Awakening: David Cameron and George Osborne have finally realised the danger of the turmoil in Greece and across Europe
In fairness, there is considerable merit to his suggestion that the Treasury, which can currently borrow money cheaply, should underwrite major private sector construction projects.
Anything which seeks to promote growth, however modest, will be welcomed by businesses desperately seeking signs of life in Whitehall.
Yet the fact remains that, save for cutting corporation tax, ministers have been worryingly complacent.
Red tape continues to strangle industry. The state-heavy economy has not been rebalanced in favour of the wealth-creating private sector. For all the talk of austerity, barely a dent has been made in public spending. The bonfire of the quangos is yet to be ignited.
Yesterday, Mr Cameron said he would do ‘what it takes to shelter the UK from the worst of the (eurozone) storms’.
For the sake of Britain – and his premiership – he must now put these words into decisive action. Too much time has been wasted already.
Pounded by the Rock
It’s impossible to know if Labour prevented a Lehman Brothers-style meltdown in Britain four years ago by pouring billions of pounds into nationalising Northern Rock.
But, as the National Audit Office confirms today, the taxpayer is going to lose heavily on the deal – which could cost the country up to £4billion.
So much for the last government’s absurdly optimistic claim that the public would at least get its money back!
George Osborne, given the unenviable task of putting the bank back into private ownership, is said by the NAO to have got a ‘reasonable’ price from Virgin Money – but the sale itself still lost the Treasury up to £289million.
The sums involved are frightening.
But not as terrifying as the potential losses if ministers are forced to strike similar deals to off-load the far larger basket-case banks, Lloyds and RBS – which, based on current share values, are worth £45billion less than the sum spent by taxpayers on bailing them out.
No more prizes for all
Nothing should detract from the achievements of the millions of youngsters who have excelled in GCSEs over the past 25 years.
But an exam which hardly anyone can now fail – the current A-G pass rate is 98.8 per cent – dilutes standards and is unfair on students given the lower grades, who find themselves with a qualification colleges and employers won’t recognise.
That’s why the Mail warmly applauds the shake-up by the exam regulator Ofqual.
F and G grades are likely to be scrapped, non-academic subjects will be stripped of GCSE status and, crucially, maths and English will be made harder.
If Britain is to compete with the world’s emerging economic powers, it must restore academic excellence and end Labour’s ‘prizes for all’ classroom culture. Ofqual and Education Secretary Michael Gove are on the right track.
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So why the hell don’t they get us out ASAP before it all crashes and we kick them out
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But have you noticed they’ve gradually managed to slip out longer and longer projections for how long this will last, I believe we’re now at ‘a decade’. By the end of the month they might finally have told us the true figure.
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The grande social experiment that is the EU has been a catastrophic disaster and only serves big business and to completely irradiate everyone’s national sovereignty and culture. Every country should govern its own citizens and fend for itself. Good will, fairness and open dialogue between nations is all this is required to unite humanity. Not a restricting and binding union. Lets hope for an E U-turn.
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