10-19-08, 1:16 pm

Original source: Morning Star (Britain)

David Cameron's speech attacking Gordon Brown for wrecking the economy by making irresponsible decisions was an act of desperation and duplicity.

It was a transparent attempt to make up lost ground in the opinion polls, which have given a boost to Mr. Brown by virtue of the euphoria whipped up over his measures to stabilize the financial markets.

Mr. Cameron doesn't propose a different strategy from that of the government – indeed, the Tory leader reaffirms his backing for Mr Brown's bank rescue plan.

Instead, he accuses Mr. Brown, during his days as chancellor, of allowing too much public and private borrowing, embracing free-market economics without understanding how it works and of basing his policies on 'false assumptions.'

These false assumptions included focusing too narrowly on a rampant housing market, spending on public services and provision of financial services.

He even had the nerve to repeat William Hague's line, which flummoxed Harriet Harman at Prime Minister's questions earlier this week, about Mr Brown's ludicrous claim that he had abolished boom and bust.

Where have these people been for the past 10 years or more?

Did they, as the Morning Star did, explain that boom and bust is an iron law of capitalism? Did they call for greater regulation of the reckless but, for a time, immensely profitable activities of the banks?

Did they take issue with the huge sums paid out in boardroom salaries, bonuses and shareholdings in recognition of the fictitious capital created by the financial speculators?

Of course not. Indeed, the Tory Party is wallowing in donations to its funds from some of these people.

So no-one should take any lessons from a Tory leadership that has no answers to the problems of the economy or to the plight of people already under pressure and those countless others who stand to lose their jobs, homes and living standards as recession bites.

But neither should workers go along with any idea of the PM being an economic genius or latter-day miracle-worker.

He and Chancellor Alistair Darling dithered for six months before they took Northern Rock into public ownership because they were petrified that the media would berate Labour for supposedly returning to 1970s policies.

And the fact that Northern Rock is repossessing homes, on the basis of borrowers failing to meet payments, at twice the rate of other lenders illustrates the brief laid down by the government to new Rock chairman Ron Sandler.

It was a brief of running down the bank's mortgage book and laying off staff to pay back government loans and return the bank to the private sector as quickly as possible, making Northern Rock workers and borrowers pay the price of the former board's wild speculation.

Government determination to enforce below-inflation pay rises on its own employees, which has provoked a successful strike ballot by PCS members, shows that new Labour bias towards the rich and powerful still reigns supreme.

If trade unions fail to challenge this stance, it will be their members who will bear the brunt of the forthcoming recession, while banks are stabilized by public funding and then handed back to the very people who presided over their effective bankruptcy.