It's driving me mad! You too?

It’s driving me mad! You too? What am I talking about? It is the refusal of both Cameron and Miliband to answer questions about what will happen if they try to form a minority government or just possibly a coalition. This is outrageous arrogance on their part isn’t it? We all know the likely outcome is a hung parliament yet they insult us by claiming they are hoping for an outright majority. John Humphrys had it right when he asked Miliband this morning (May 4th) what he intended to do as it would inform the electorate before they cast their vote. Some people (not me as it happens) need to know what the Conservative or Labour leaders will do in a hung parliament because it will affect their choice. Come on. It’s obvious. While I’m on the subject of frustration, I am continually annoyed by Ed Miliband’s failure to articulate clearly what he meant when he said the last Labour government did not overspend. I know the correct answer, but he seems not to. The correct answer, from a Labour perspective at least, is that, yes, Labour increased the budget deficit significantly, but this was not wasted expenditure, much of it went on health, education and other public services. Had they not spent that money, these public services would have been in a desperate state and the next government would have had to pick up the tab. We as a country did have considerable debt but we also had a strong health and education system to show for it. The money was not frittered away. Why can’t Miliband explain that properly? It’s like this. Suppose a family had a child who became severely disabled and they were unable to access compensation or enough benefits to give that child a decent quality of life. The family has no resources, so they borrow a large amount of money that puts them into debt for the foreseeable future. Has that family overspent? Its debts have increased considerably, certainly, but was their spending justified? I will leave you to answer that.