IRELAND OUT OF RECESSION, UNLIKE, ERM, THE UK

Gordon Brown faced further embarrassment today over Britain’s recovery after it emerged that Ireland's beleaguered economy has emerged from recession.

Irish economic output rose by 0.3 per cent between July and September compared to the second quarter, official figures showed today, leaving the UK as one of the few Western economies still mired in an economic downturn.

The technical definition of a recession is two or more consecutive quarters of falling gross domestic product. A number of countries emerged from recession in the third quarter, including America, Japan, China, Germany and France.
However, Britain’s economy continued to shrink, falling by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter according to the most recent estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Perhaps Mr Murphy would like to address his apologies to the Irish President and the people of Ireland. A letter from Dover House maybe, or a television appearance?

If there are any Irish readers here, I’d like to apologise on behalf of Scotland. On the several occasions when Murphy came out with his ill-thought-out, rude, rubbish about how backward looking and sad Ireland was, I cringed. Please believe me, we’re not all like him.

Shame on Scotland

According to Daniel Finkelstein’s “Comment Central” the ex- housekeeper of The Right Honourable, Noble and Learned Lady Scotland (actually she doesn’t appear to be any of these things when you think about it) has engaged Mr Max Clifford who (with Jade Goodie no longer with us, and her unlovely husband in prison for the third time, this time on a charge of rape) has time on his hands.

Mr Finkelstein thinks that this probably means that she (the cleaner) is going to tell a story which will be at variance with that of the good (no, she’s not that either) Baroness. Oh dear.

What is more, one of the comments on the blog suggests that an opportune moment to release this story would be just shortly before Gordon makes his first big speech. I should imagine that this will have occurred to Clifford too.

To add to Scotland’s (that’s the peer not the country) embarrassment it seems that the rules regarding ministers claiming housing allowance have been reinterpreted.

From the Times:

The Cabinet Office could not have been clearer that Scotland should have received the allowance only if her main home was outside the capital.

However, less than 24 hours after the article [in the Times] was published, Baroness Royall, the leader of the Lords, sanctioned a statement by the Cabinet Office which overturned all its previous advice. It said the allowance was available to all lords who serve as ministers, regardless of where they live.

Och, isn’t that sweet. It seems she was entitled to all that dosh and she didn’t steal it at all.

How do these people look at themselves in the mirror?