the coalition (and. Mr Osborne) are sticking to the plan as the alternative is much worse
Yep :
“Far from weakening our resolve to deliver our economic recovery plan, this decision redoubles it.”[/i] – George Osborne 2013
That’s despite the fact that, according to George Osborne, the plan was designed specifically to avoid losing triple A rating.
George Osborne in opposition in 2010 :
Today, for the first time in our history, Britain’s credit rating is under threat.
Indeed, some commentators think a downgrade is inevitable.
That would mean higher interest rates on our national debt and throughout our economy could tip us back into recession, with more jobs lost and more businesses going under.
That’s why our first Benchmark for Britain is to…
…Cut the deficit more quickly to safeguard Britain’s credit rating.
Conservative Party Website
And it’s not just the Tories who have contradicted themselves as already mentioned the credit agencies have proved to have been equally clueless.
Moody’s hails UK austerity effort
“The UK’s top-ranked AAA credit rating is safe, thanks to the government’s austerity measures, according to the rating agency Moody’s.”
Of course none of this should be seen as failure from this government’s perspective. The ideologically motivated cuts have, and will, contribute greatly to making ordinary people poorer and the super-rich even wealthier. So all in all a good job well done.