This morning on Andrew Marr David Cameron sidestepped a question on the likelihood of Britain losing its AAA credit rating this year, almost as if he was accepting the inevitability. An hour later I interviewed Ed Balls on my LBC show and much to my surprise he failed to make hay with the prospect. He reckons it has already been discounted in the financial markets and it wouldn’t really matter anyway as no one really takes any notice of the credit ratings agencies. It would merely be a further sign of George Osborne’s failure to reduce debt. Personally, I think it would be an unmitigated disaster and a huge embarrassment for this country.
Balls was in jaunty mood this morning, airily dismissing Peter Mandelson’s criticism of him and Ed Miliband. We had an interesting exchange on child benefit. I asked him if he considered himself rich, which seemed to momentarily floor him. He stuck to the position that child benefit should be universal even for families like his, with a combined income of more than £135,000.
The 14 minute long interview can be heard HERE
And if you would like to hear my interview with the Danish Ambassador about the popularity of Borgen and The Killing, click HERE
