January 23, 2008
Northern Rock
David Cameron had the best lines at Prime Minister’s Questions today. On Northern Rock, he claimed, the public had been offered a "sub-prime deal from a sub-prime minister". Very good.
He also suggested that Gordon Brown had turned from Prudence into Del Boy. And the difference between administration and liquidation, he quipped, was: "Administration is what the government is in at the moment, liquidation is what will happen by the British people at the next election."
Such lines, surely pre-prepared, are well and good. The Tory leader also nailed Brown on the specifics, such as the total liabilities the taxpayer will be taking on - and how much Goldman Sachs will receive for its advice (to which no clear answers were given). Brown’s suggestion that he hoped the government will make a "profit" from the deal sounded like a grand hostage to fortune.
There is still an uneasy suspicion that the Tories don’t exactly have a better solution for handling the Northern Rock implosion, however. That may limit the political damage to the government for now.
