Should politicians lie?

OK, don't get me wrong I know they do, but are there times when it is justifiable to lie?.

I would say, that sadly yes. Nobody wants a Chancellor of the Exchequer who turns up at the depatch box puts his head in his hands and says,
"You know the balance of payments is up the spout, inflation is running at 3 times the official figures and we cannot afford the repayments on our national debts".

Even if this were true the effect on the markets would be catastrophic. Indeed by his honesty the Chancellor would exacerbate a crisis trurning it into a disaster.

In a similar vein, if Churchill had been brutally honest about the UK's position in 1940, rather than pugnaciously upbeat about our prospects then the collapse of national morale would have been such as to hasten the end of the war on German terms.

Which is why the comments made by David Davis on the BBC News 24 yesterday and spotted by EU Referendum depress me so much.

Here is it reported on EU Politix.

A senior Conservative has conceded that the government will "probably" avoid having to hold a referendum on the EU constitutional treaty.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said he did not believe reports that up to 120 Labour MPs are ready to rebel on the issue.
However, he claimed that the government would "lose the argument" to the Conservatives and other critics of the treaty.
Recent reports have suggested that the prime minister could face a major rebellion from proponents of the poll, which Labour originally committed to hold when the document was officially described as a 'constitution'.
But Davis told the BBC News 24 Sunday programme: "I think they will probably evaporate when it comes down to it.
"But it doesn't mean the government will win the argument. They may win the vote.
"In a way, losing the argument is worse for them. People will say 'you promised this
before. This treaty is 90 per cent the same. What are you afraid of?'"

Hold on. What Davis has said may be true, but should he actually say it? (Indeed he should know, he was a whip during the Maastricht debate remember)

Not at all, if even her Maj's opposition sit their and say it isn't worth the effort why would any Labour back (or Front) bencher risk their political life for the referendum?

And frankly he seems to think that if the price of a few percentage points in the polls is selling the country down the slide it is a price worth paying. He is not fit to hold one of the major offices of State and his party is not fit to govern this country. If they had their way it would merely be a province of Mr Barroso's empire.

I thank God I left the Tories.

Yes yes, I know he went on to say he was going to campaign hard, but he has already shown his heart isn't in it. So why bother?