First it was Margaret Beckett. Faced with a forecast that house prices were set to slump by 22% in the next 18 months, Ms Beckett suddenly advised first-time buyers to snap up bargains amid signs of a property market ‘upturn’.
Then it was Tony McNulty. Faced with unemployment hurtling towards two million and government borrowing and debt at record levels, Mr McNulty said there was ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the economy.
Suggestion: All graphs handed to Government Ministers should be clearly marked ‘This Way Up’.