Dave's Speech to the CBI

Anyone playing Dave bingo with yesterday's CBI speech would be pleased with the full house they got by the end of it.

"1 million more private sector employees" and "the deficit down by a quarter" received a repeat airing, despite both getting a comprehensive debunking.

"Choice" and "competition" in schools get a mention. Less planning and policy direction from the centre will, somehow, provide for the sorts of skills employers are crying out for. It's almost as if the last 30 years of business-facing education didn't happen.

"Tackling red tape" reverses the legal requirement to take into consideration the effects new policy will have on society's poorest, most vulnerable, and most at risk.

"Tough decisions" was there to make up the numbers too.

As ever, Dave showed absolutely no understanding of the real economic difficulties facing Britain, let alone how to go about addressing them. Telling your ministers to have a growth mindset and, embarrassingly, referring to your government as a "Growth Cabinet" will not make up for gaping policy deficiencies and an excruciating record on the economy.

It was as you pretty much have come to expect from the front bench: a desperate package of spin and wishful thinking. 

Half-way through the Parliament, the Coalition are looking more tired than Blair or Brown ever did.