On so called lies

One would have more sympathy for Labour over what they call “lies” about their tax and spending if Labour had not spent the last three years lying day in and day out about National cutting health funding.

National has increased funding for health by 41% in nominal terms, 22% in real terms and 11% in real per capita terms. Yet for three years Labour have day in and day out lied and claimed National has cut health funding.

So this campaign is schadenfreude for Labour. They got some of their own medicine. No I’m not saying I agree National lied (they did over egg the hole claim) but I’m saying that National’s claims over’s Labour’s tax and spending plans are at least as defensible (in fact more so) than Labour’s three years of claiming health funding has been cut.

The difference is National has not spent the entire campaign whining about what Labour said. It has been focusing on the issues, rather than getting petulant about the fact opponents spin things to suit them.