Britain should not fear asking for IMF cash - Telegraph.
Can anyone doubt which "senior cabinet minister" is (directly or indirectly) being quoted below ?
The previous Labour Government's bail-out by the IMF in 1976 was seen as a national humiliation and helped sweep the party from power for 18 years.
A senior Cabinet minister said, however, that the new fund would not be like the 1970s version and should not be seen as such. He said there would be nothing wrong if America or Britain used the facility.
He said: "Previously a country would only go if they were in a very bad state. It was a bit like going to accident and emergency to get urgent help.
"This new facility will not be like that. It is a bit more like getting wellbeing care or even like going to a spa to recuperate."
Only Mandy would ever have had the mental image of the nation "going to a spa." Had we still Prescott, perhaps we would be going to a metaphorical massage parlour?
