Holding Brown to account is not playing 'political games', it is Cameron's democratic duty

Did Labour really expect that Conservative support for the government’s plan to save Britain’s banks, would prevent the opposition holding Gordon Brown to account for his mismanagement of the economy indefinitely? Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, accused David Cameron of playing ‘juvenile political games’ at a time when the ‘British people want calm leadership and serious policies to get through tough times’.

Actually the opposition leader not only has the right to assert Gordon Brown’s responsibility for failed economic policies, it is his democratic duty to do so. Bi partisan support for one policy cannot be allowed to occlude government culpability, even if it is tackling a situation of its own making by agreed means. David Cameron was right to critique Labour’s economic policies in a speech to the city this morning and, although it is easy to be wise in hindsight, neither did he do a bad job.

It doesn’t take an economic genius to deduce that Gordon Brown’s debt fuelled boom was short-term hubris. Well over a year ago, even this humble weblog was suggesting that his addiction to deficit could ultimately result in serious consequences.

David Cameron will not produce an instant antidote to the current crisis. However, his rhetoric of responsibility and balance strikes a melodious note compared to the discordant racket of borrow and spend which Labour bequeathed.

David Cameron’s message, whether it is focussed on social issues, the importance of community, or the economy, is beginning to coalesce around certain common and coherent themes. That cannot be a bad thing and it is increasingly in contrast to the disjointed thrashings of a failed Labour government.