Here's a strange coincidence: the £7 billion that the British government is going to pour down the thirsty throats of Ireland’s failed banks is more or less equivalent to the total amount of money to be saved in this financial year from the first wave of government cuts.
So we have no money for our own country, for our own services, for our own people, but we have billions for Irish bankers. It should now be crystal clear that Britain is not broke, that the mantra we are being told about what is “unaffordable” – schools, universities, pensions, the list goes on – is just one big lie.
To give £7 billion a bit of context, it’s 87.5 times the loan the government refused to give to Sheffield Forgemasters, a key component of British industry. It is more than 5 per cent of the total health budget.
To make matters even worse, this fortune is being shipped out not to protect our economy but to shore up the tottering euro. The only positive thing is that things would be far, far worse if Britain were in the eurozone: our economy would be in worse shape, and we would have to shell out even more.
How much for Portugal, Italy, Spain…?