Why should we buy Labour’s pig in a poke?

THE Labour Party remains stubbornly mute on public expenditure cuts, including whether child benefit should, or should not, be cut.

If Labour is to fulfil the trends in recent opinion polls the electorate need to have clear insight into how Labour in government intends to steer the economy. Why should the electorate buy a pig in a poke?

A scarecrow in a fog would have offered more incisive economic leadership that our dear nation has witnessed in recent times. The consequences are mirrored in the polls, high interest rates, indifferent sentiment and declining credit ratings. Economic leadership includes not just the broad policy frameworks concerning public expenditure and the successful prosecution of delinquent bankers – it also means fielding an A-team throughout the government apparatus to execute competent economic leadership. Perception counts for more than people presume. That is why we are paying through the nose for sovereign debt and why rating agencies frown on Ireland.