And clear blue water

If you ever need to know how out of touch with the real world and real people the Tories are, look no further than Shadow Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley MP, who said yesterday,

On many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families...

Today that quote has been withdrawn from its original posting on the Conservative Party's Blue Blog web-site. Now there's a surprise. Unfortunately for the Tories one of the delights of the web is the imprint you leave by posting something lasts a long time, so Lansley is now spread far and wide. Something Cameron would like to do to him no doubt.

James Purnell MP, Labour's Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, responding to Andrew Lansley's comments that the recession can be 'good for us', said:

Now more than ever it's important to help people who are sick to stay in work so that they can support themselves and their families. During the Tory recession people's health suffered as they were abandoned to long term unemployment or thrown onto incapacity benefit. Yet today the Tories think a recession will be good for people's health.

The Conservative Deputy Chairman may already regret letting the cat out of the bag when he said 'the recession has to take its course' but it remains Conservative policy. Now we know that not only would the Conservatives do nothing but sit back and watch the recession ‘take its course' - they actually believe it would be ‘good for us'.

There is a clear choice for the British people: Labour's approach will give real help now for families and businesses to help Britain come through these difficult times stronger and sooner; the Conservatives would sit back and watch as the recession became longer and deeper.