Swanning around, by Mike Thatcher

20 Aug 09
Controversy over UK and US health services rages on, with David Cameron labelling a Conservative critic of the NHS as an ‘eccentric’ whose views are not representative of the party

Controversy over UK and US health services rages on, with David Cameron labelling a Conservative critic of the NHS as an ‘eccentric’ whose views are not representative of the party.

The Tory leader clearly wants to be seen as a centre-ground politician, but he does not always shy away from those who hold apparently eccentric views.

This week, for instance, he shared a platform with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the economist and author of The Black Swan – a best-selling book about low-probability, high-impact events.

At the breakfast briefing, hosted by the Royal Society of Arts, Taleb expressed doubt that climate change was a man-made phenomenon, predicted a period of hyperinflation and suggested that economic crashes were an opportunity to make profits.

The Opposition leader distanced himself from these flights of fancy, but did introduce his own element of controversy. Cameron suggested that Labour’s borrowing plans were a ‘disgrace’ and could lead to a situation where the UK defaulted on its debt.

He added a number of riders, but was still accused of ‘scaremongering’. John McFall, Labour chair of the Treasury select committee, described Cameron’s assertion as ‘economic policy by innuendo’ and ‘loose language’.

So, were these just silly season meanderings, reflecting the exhausted state of politics this summer (see Tony Travers’ cover feature)? Hardly, Cameron has been in similar trouble before.

In January he was said to be talking Britain down when he warned that Gordon Brown could be forced to seek support from the International Monetary Fund. The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, also faced flak when he claimed the borrowing binge could lead to a run on the pound.

It’s a dilemma for any opposition party. Senior politicians are not meant to offer dire economic predictions – for fear of making the predicted outcome more likely. But they abdicate their responsibility if they do not point out the error, as they see it, of the government’s ways.

With borrowing levels hitting the stratosphere, and the public services likely to be the fall guys, Cameron and Osborne have to call the situation as they see it.

They might be swimming against the tide, but they are entitled to warn of the dangers that lie ahead

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