Many commentators on this site have said that continued austerity is bound to lead to civil disruption at some point. The police now seem to agree. This comes from the Guardian today:
I have little doubt that approval will be given. But if it is the choice is clear. The tax gap will not have been tackled to end austerity. Real wages have not been increased. No real effort to reduce unemployment has been made. Living standards have been allowed to fall. But water cannon can be bought.
That's the state we will have reached.
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The problem is the gangs and those districts which have slipped into their control. The gangs are not the products of immediate austerity but other factors are involved, notably drugs, other crime and money laundering etc. Water cannons are literally a last ditch crude defence on the streets. The real need is to take out the money conduits of crime and the gangs.
I wonder if you read the full article? The police officer who wrote the report for accommodation cited possible instances when water cannon would have been used. They were the Countryside Alliance rally, and the student protests that came in the wake of the Liberty tuition. Fee betrayal. Children as young as twelve made up a large part of that action. Coming on same day that the Government voted to reject the Lord’s attempts to reconcile the gagging bill, this article is a chilling reminder of the Tory/LibDem vision of our country’s future.
Tax cuts are making us all better off Richard. No need to riot… http://t.money.uk.msn.com/news/tax-cuts-making-people-better-off
This has been in the air for some time -like you, Richard, I imagine it will happen. The police seem to have identified the root of potential rioting but offer no criticism of this foul Government (unless it affects them!).
Cruel and random benefit docking for more than 600,000; bedroom tax, a million in work on housing benefit, asset stripping sell offs of public assets and a dodgy statistical measure of recovery that is nothing of the sort. Will the somnolence and narcolepsy hold?
Hey! Austerity works! Unemployment down!! More jobs at, er…..Subway! It seems that nice Mr Osbourne was right. Cutting public spending right down works!
Debt, is, er up and continues to climb and consumer debt has reached £1.2 trillion, but let’s not quibble eh?
Investment in the real economy is still pretty much non-existent. Wages are being held at their lowest rate in decades, probably to tempt foreign investment to Britain. You see, the further wages and living standards drop. the more companies invest from overseas. Most of these jobs are from the service economy, low paid, part time and low skilled but again, lets not quibble!
Wages are chronically low, investment is still down and Osbourne is still cutting £25 billion out of the economy. The apparent growth has no real visible means of support. The media forgets to mention the sell off of national assets making the debt look better than it really is. That and the £375 billion they have effectively wiped off the debt through QE.
Of course, the media conveniently the sky-high consumer debt and the housing bubble driving up consumption. We are doing great and don’t dare say otherwise!
The BoE, after saying that they would start to raise interest rates if unemployment fell to 7% are now saying they probably won’t now! I bet they are!!
Because this apparent recovery will collapse like a house of cards once they do!
I agree
1% on interest rates and this falls flat
‘The BoE, after saying that they would start to raise interest rates if unemployment fell to 7% are now saying they probably won’t now! I bet they are!!’
Well as they actually said they would only review interest rates if unemployment reached 7% and not before, and having regard to other factors they would consider the interest rate position, I think you’ve misunderstood. Again.
The BoE is now wriggling
Stevo is right to say that
Please, with urgency, check what the BOE has said.
They didn’t say that the only factor was the rate of unemployment. I is one of many.
Don believe everything you read in the press. Just listen to the man.
Richard, you really should know better.
I am well aware what the BoE said
But they also deliberately created expectations and if that proves meaningless the whole forward guidance policy is shredded with it
It’s not what the BoE said that matters, but the perception it created that does
As I’ve said – with wages lower than they’ve been in real terms for decades, £25 billion in spending cuts, benefit cuts, pension cuts, were is the wealth that is driving this economy?
The clue is in the massive rate of consumer borrowing! Only a small rise in rates will have this so-called recovery crashing down! The BoE made a big show of raising interest rates if unemployment crept down to 7%, probably gambling it wouldn’t happen for a few years. The government is bragging loudly that unemployment has come right down to, er…around 7% and when asked if they are going to raise rates, the BoE says…er…um…..well…..!!
There is no visible means of support to this recovery! It is largely based on debt! That is why a rise in rates will quickly collapse it! The BoE know this, so it’s not going to be happening anytime soon!
“Please, with urgency, check what the BOE has said.
They didn’t say that the only factor was the rate of unemployment. I is one of many.
Don believe everything you read in the press. Just listen to the man.”
Oh…do me a favour! The BoE, as Richard says, strongly hinted that interest rates would be allowed to rise if unemployment reached 7 percent. You know fine well you are quibbling!
The BoE are now trying to distance themselves from this because they know the economy will be put severely at risk by any rise in rates as it is built on foundations of sand.
If they do put up interest rates, nobody will be more surprised than me!
I think it;s a safe bet to say that they won’t be going up anytime soon, that is, if the market doesn’t force their hand.
We share sentiment on this
We know exactly what they said, and it is not what Richard is claiming – else the market would have acted materially different than it did, following the latest unemployment figures.
But that doesn’t matter on here!
That is why Carney has back tracked tonight is it?
You know, Steve Keen is right – at some time we will just have to write down some of this debt…
Yes
Agreed
Or inflate it away
Most of the price of derivatives is purely notional. A notional value is one more or less picked out of the air. As Ellen Brown says in her brilliant book, Web of Debt:
(paraphrasing) “Someone picks a value and, if no-one starts giggling, that’s the price!”
The real price of the debt of these derivatives is probably up to 50% less or more!
The militarisation of the US police is also telling. Globally, the elites seem quite terrified of the civil unrest likely to result from ‘austerity’.
It is not so much the militarisation of the police that matters. It is the militarisation of homeland security.
A staff of over a quarter million.
Armoured personnel vehicles, mine-armoured.
1.6 billion rounds of ammunition purchased, some hollow point (forbidden to use in war)
At least our police are only likely to get water cannon…oh wait…returning combat troops are being civil unrest trained.
It’s been pretty clear since before the last election that Osborne’s plan for “clearing the debt” involved transferring as much of that debt from the government to individuals/families. And that’s what he’s done and continues to do….and, unless anyone believes Osborne to be stupid rather than malicious, will continue to do.
I share the view that the only possible outcome from this government’s assault on the most vulnerable is strong protest culminating in violence, vide Kiev right now.
So, I believe, do they… Which begs the question why. Thatcher’s shrewdest move, politically speaking, was to draw the NUM into an unwinnable conflict that allowed their vilification and drove a serious wedge between those of us who supported the miners and those who believed the Government/media line. Could it be that the purchase of water cannon is intended as direct provocation? Violence only begets violence. The best response to this is to step up the pressure on The Labour Party to do their job and oppose. And perhaps ask a few searching questions of the LibDems about their collusion in these repressive measures.
An excellent question
Stevo!!!
‘Oh…do me a favour! The BoE, as Richard says, strongly hinted that interest rates would be allowed to rise if unemployment reached 7 percent. You know fine well you are quibbling!’
Well, actually it’s you that are quibbling as Carney actually said a rise would not be considered until the 7% figure was reached. You could always listen to his comments or see what he has subsequently said.
And now he’s back tracked which would not have been necessary if you were right
“Well, actually it’s you that are quibbling as Carney actually said a rise would not be considered until the 7% figure was reached. You could always listen to his comments or see what he has subsequently said.”
“We know exactly what they said, and it is not what Richard is claiming — else the market would have acted materially different than it did, following the latest unemployment figures.
But that doesn’t matter on here!”
My word! You two are really struggling, aren’t you?