The myth of Tory credibility on the economy

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/04/myth-tory-credibility-economy

Quick quiz: has the government saved the economy by taking difficult decisions to cut spending drastically, or are they cutting by almost the same as Labour would have anyway? You'd be forgiven for being confused because the Conservative-led coalition is not sure either.

The government's "new cuts narrative" has been outlined in the past by Fraser Nelson, attempted by George Osborne, and articulated last week by Tim Montgomerie as: "Cameron state is 3% larger than the Brown state."

So did they save the economy or are they matching Labour? That depends on how you slice the figures. But the government is getting away with such brazen U-turns because journalists either look away or don't understand the economics.

You may want to ask why it's retreating from the fighting talk of severe cuts? It is now received wisdom among the media and political class (including some within Labour) that the government is seen as credible on the economy because it's willing to make deep cuts.