At last, a challenge to Svengali Osbornomics

FarNorth, maybe Osborne's going to have to take his dad's money back, to pay for all those poor people's tax credits.
Do you think his dad will be angry with him?

I'm sure good old Giddy believes his Dad's worth it!

Interesting, this.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/george-osbornes-dad-could-50000-6686515

I am sure Osborne did not realise his dad would benefit quite so much - or did he?

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/106068

A petition to get the government to own up to what the cuts are doing to the disabled.

Eight of them, actually. Every little helps, as does accuracy.

And of course the single Green Party MP.

All five of them?

All the Libdems voted against.

PR politics.

I am quite shocked that LP MPs voted with the government. The debate showed very clearly that this was purely political. It is not law; no government actually needs to obey it and any government could rescind it.

GO will use it as a fig leaf and keep telling everyone that he must treat the poor and disabled and everyone working in public service in the way he is doing to meet this charter - voted in by parliament. They were always going to win as they have a majority but as I say I am shocked any LP MP actually voted with them - shame on them.

I must see how my MP voted only Kendell voted with the government and he supported her in leadership bid.

Personally I think the whole thing meaningless, as no government can
Control future governments. A total waste of time and good tax payers money.

Only 21 abstained, so even better. It will be interesting to find out who.
Chris Leslie, for one, I imagine.

I'd like to know how it is going to work. Osborne promises not to spend more than the money they take in tax.
If the tax take is going down because not so many people are paying tax and he's given tax cuts to the rich, that means that welfare cuts are going to be even greater.
Or is he going to say in his next budget that these are not normal times?

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015/10/14/why-is-this-government-hell-bent-on-failing/

Fewer than 30 Labour MPs chose to abstain, which according to the Guardian, was not a challenge to Corbyn's authority. Good. Shame, though. Hope one of them was not my MP, as I'll be asking her why.
Hopefully now that's out of the way, there will be closer votes.

So a political move has been made with no thought for the economics - it will be interesting to see the comments to Mr and at the weekend.

320 in favour of it and 258 against.

Probably some pairing Jen. What a farce.

And Osborne won, although I find it interesting that 100 MPs did not think it important enough to be there.

Good speech from her too. I agree, none of the heavyweights (of the lightweights come to that) in economic circles seem to have backed the Government. John Mann was good. What a mockery of parliament just to try and score a political point. GO should be ashamed of himself. The worst of it is that no government actually needs to take any notice of this "Charter" not even this one!

Helen Goodman has just said the time allowed to debate is pitiful.

John Mann is good as well. Nobody important has supported the charter, because it's a political gimmick.
Churchill - "Do not strive to be normal."

John McDonnell has made a good economic reply. GO was just politicking in my opinion.

Osborne has just said it's only a 90 minute debate. Shows how important they think it is.

‘Con’ artist: George Osborne.

As MPs prepare to debate George Osborne’s new ‘Charter for Budget Responsibility’ – a legally-binding document demanding that the government must balance the books by the 2019-20 financial year – let us consider his words on the subject in 2010.

In January that year, while he was still Shadow Chancellor, Osborne tried to block Labour’s Fiscal Responsibility Act.

He said: “Let us remember what one of the economists whom the Prime Minister himself appointed to the Monetary Policy Committee has said about the Bill. Willem Buiter has said: ‘Fiscal responsibility acts are instruments of the fiscally irresponsible to con the public.'”