When cornered by David Cameron on the economy (as he regularly is these days), the Prime Minister has a habit of referring to the Leader of the Opposition as Norman Lamont’s chief economic adviser on Black Wednesday (which is, in fact, untrue).
I rather doubt, however, that he will repeat the taunt after this exchange at today’s PMQs:
Mr. Cameron: In terms of the recession, will the Prime Minister confirm that, far from this being “not as bad as the 1980s” or “not as bad as the 1990s”, we are now, in Britain, in the deepest recession since the second world war?
The Prime Minister: I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman has asked that question. In the early 1990s, interest rates went up to 15 per cent. In the early 1990s, inflation went up to 10 per cent. In the early 1990s, the Conservatives did nothing when people were worried about their mortgages. In the 1990s, they did nothing when people became unemployed. And who was the chief economic adviser to the Chancellor at the time? None other than the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Cameron: Perhaps on another occasion we can talk about some of your chief advisers and what they have been up to. It is about time this Prime Minister realised that as well as bringing the country to the brink of financial bankruptcy, he has brought his party to moral bankruptcy.
What the Hansard transcript does not convey is the deafening roar that went up after the first sentence of Cameron’s riposte. The Prime Minister was made to look an idiot. His backbenchers didn’t like it.
Here, here !