Cardiff Post Article 28th October 2008 

Some constituents have told me that they don't understand why the government has bailed out the banks in the recent financial crisis.  The truth is that unless the Government had acted decisively the consequences for millions of ordinary families would have been devastating. The country would have been right not to forgive a Government that failed to do everything in its power to save people from the worst consequences of a financial crisis. 

Gordon Brown has shown that in a crisis he acts firmly decisively and in the country's intersts.  It is an approach which other countries have now copied. That is the difference between being in Government and opposition.  George Osbourne and David Cameron  have so far had the luxury of being able to make political points without having to come up with real solutions to real problems.   In politics, as in other areas there is a big difference between clever tactics and sound strategy.  There is no doubt that they come up with some clever wheezes in the short term, but in the long term their schemes unravel.  Let me give a recent example. 

A promise on fuel tax which George Osborne made to win headlines in July would now add millions of pounds to British families' tax bills because of changing oil prices.

For all his smooth patter, the truth is Mondeo drivers would now be paying £3.50 a tank more because of George Osborne's schoolboy error.

While the Government is freezing fuel duty for a whole year, the Shadow Chancellor's plans would mean increasing fuel duty by almost 5p a litre today - based on his own proposals.That is what happens when you try to grab short term headlines with eye-catching wheezes without care for the consequences. This even more than his Corfu escapade just goes to show why this is  definitely no time for a novice.