Labour dismissed the plans which they say sound similar to £15bn of efficiency savings due to be introduced this year anyway.

Alistair Darling, the shadow chancellor, said: “The Liberal-Conservative coalition have got to come clean on the detail of what these cuts mean. Today they dodged the House of Commons, because they didn’t want to have to explain the real impact on firms and families.

“Today, George Osborne wouldn’t say how many jobs this package would cost. But it is already clear that these cuts will seriously affect support for business, mean less jobs for young people, and hit student places for this September.”

So the opposition’s argument is

1. Same as what we were going to do, in fact less.
2. So all the criticisms made of it would apply just as much to a New Labour administration’s cuts.
3. But we’ll make them anyway as lazy Westminster hacks have to fill their days with something besides meals on expenses and the redundant noise of the media may still keep chumps anaesthetised.

So our choices were/are what exactly? The party leadership are glommed around the centre right like shit on a toothbrush and equally unpalatable. With two Left contenders (John McDonnell, Diane Abbott) for the leadership of a party that did once represent people hopes might be raised, although the usual New Labour /Next Labour suspects are already treating the race as one between the Milibands and Balls (does that make Burnham the taint?). As Richard Murphy shows the country is run for the benefit of a rich minority which last time I checked is not so much democracy more the oligarchy thingy. If the best a whatever Labour opposition can do is whine- Oh we were going to do that, um (remembers job of opposition, the appearance of dissent) but what you’re doing is bad- not only will logic be taking a battering for the next five years but it’ll be nothing compared to the hope of lefties in Labour and the those who live on the median income or less (or the majority who live below the average income).