The general election circus has rolled into town and it is being led by a bright pink van driven by Harriet Harman. Grexit, primary school style manifestos, tax dodging millionaires and threats of resignations all feature.
Grexit takes a giant leap forward
The former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, has predicted that Greece will be forced to exit the euro, as its new prime minister outlined plans to keep the debt-stricken country financially afloat.
In a bleak assessment of Europe’s future, Greenspan, one of the most influential policymakers of modern times, said it was ‘just a matter of time’ before Greece dropped out, triggering the eventual collapse of the single currency.
The Greece problem has turned into one so complicated no-one seems able to talk about it. A truth that continually surprises me but shouldn’t is that once a problem becomes big enough everyone simply ignores it. Here we are closer than ever to the collapse of the Euro and instead everyone is shrugging and looking elsewhere. I make a mental note to look into the repercussions for our clients.
HSBC Tax scandal
The Guardian is among a number of international newspapers that have got a top scoop about HSBC helping wealthy clients evade tax. Among the assortment of celebrities caught up in the scandal are what appears to be a number of Tory donors. It could not have come at a better time for Labour. On Monday night the Prime Minister was rubbing shoulders with millionaire financiers, hedge fund kings and people with complicated tax arrangements at the lavish Black and White fundraising ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel. Millions were raised from the auction of luxurious prizes that most people could only dream of.
‘This looks very bad for us,’ one senior Tory tells me the next day. He’s not wrong. It’s hard to imagine a worse public relations disaster. For the past five years the Tories have been selling us austerity under the heading ‘we’re all in this together’, this bash sends out the message: ‘You’re all in this together’.
Deal or no deal
A 125-page report written by psephologist Lewis Baston and commissioned by Westbourne looking at who will win the next election has thrown a cat among the pigeons. Rather than simply getting a hung parliament the report suggests we could very well be left in a situation that a minimum of three parties will be needed in any coalition. The finding has led to questions about whether Labour would shack up with the SNP for a term. Privately a number of Labour MPs have threatened to quit if the party does a deal with the Nationalists. Creating a rainbow coalition is clearly going to be no easy task.
Labour’s pink vote
On Wednesday it’s Labour’s turn again to take a pasting. The party has decided to drive a pink van around to encourage women to vote – the party knows more of them support Labour if only they’d bother going to the ballot box. But of course it is not long before there are howls of outrage at gender stereotyping.
I bump into shadow arts minister Chris Bryant, a man who doesn’t shy away from a media storm, and take his temperature on the issue. ‘Oh everyone is going on about how it is such a gaff but actually I think it is quite good as it’s got people talking about us,’ he tells me. ‘There is nothing worse in politics than not being talked about.’
Lib Dems’ primary colours
The Liberal Democrats have released the front page of their election manifesto setting out five red line policies. The image is a number of coloured squares with one with a bunch of children’s hand prints on it. It’s got a kind of primary school feel to it. But that’s the point. Wondering how they can win back dwindling support the Lib Dems have copied Tony Blair’s winning formula in 1997 by putting front and centre of their bid for power with a promise to guarantee education funding from nursery to 19 and qualified teachers in every classroom.