At the Conservative Party Conference

Whatever one may think of the Tories, one has to admire them for announcing an austerity campaign BEFORE rather than after AFTER an election! I can't remember another instance of this. OK, so they're all filthy rich, but at least one can say that the tenor of Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's speech at long last bore some resemblance to reality. It makes a welcome change to the moronic messages emanating from all parts of the political spectrum here in France ("Let's spend our way out of trouble" and "no question of increasing taxes").

Incidentally, I notice that George is a prime proponent of a new development designed to take the place of the old press conference. In this new system, the speaker gets to ask the questions as well as answer them. So much more convenient.

I can't remember the exact words but something like:

"Have we spent too much?"

"Yes."

"Are we the only ones?"

"No."

"Are we worse than other countries?"

"Yes."

Very clever!