By Jove I Think He's Got It




Dangerous Dave comes out fighting








Having lost three General Election's running it looks like the harsh reality of defeat might be forcing a change in traditional Conservative thinking - no promises of tax cuts for the next General Election manifesto.

This is the one area where traditional Labour and Conservative values go head-to-head, if you vote Labour you expect the taxes you pay to provide for better state funded services leaving you less of your income to spend on what you want. If you vote Conservative you are by nature somebody who hates the idea of taxes and want the choice to do what you see fit with your income with as little state interference as possible. That's a simple version of the traditional situation.

The thing is times have changed, politics over the past sixteen or so years has taken a huge leap towards the middle, not just in this country but around Europe. Beginning with the collapse of Communism in 1989 it is just not possible for a party to be elected on an extreme ticket, the polarisation that dominated the political map throughout the sixties, seventies and eighties has gone. Yes there are instances where extremism is rearing its ugly head again but people have begun to accept that you can be a moderate without having to resort to knitting your own gravy and sitting naked with your arms around the nearest tree.

David Cameron has a number of good points but not enough different ones from Tony Blair or Gordy Arctic Monkey to make him electable. The other point is, and I made this point on a post to Iain Dale's blog, who does he have behind him who is going to convince the great British public that his party is the one for the next decade? Even the Conservative Party was admitting last week that not enough people could name many of the Shadow Cabinet. It's a bit like trying to name Britain's 4th ranked male tennis player - Murray, Rusedski, Henman, ?

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has told the party faithful that they must stop bickering among themselves and support the prudent stance on tax. All good Governments need good opposition and frankly having John Redwood and Normo Tebbs warmed up every Autumn and dragged kicking and screaming into the bright lights of political reality does their chances no good whatsoever - can you imagine the ridicule of Labour if Neil Kinnock, bless him, was still alive and paraded before the country as our party spokesman.

The only opposition party whose current stance on tax adds up is the Lib-Dems but you've got more chance of finding a pork sausage in a mosque than you have of seeing Menzies Campbell elected as P.M.

Osborne said at Bournemouth "I want people to hear this party say with one voice that economic stability will always come first. And let that be clear when we talk about taxes." He's right, the last Conservative Government (yes there really was one), were absolutely useless when it came to economics, they played fast and loose and lost. It was the equivalent of watching a man with no arms win on the slots in Las Vegas, the money just trickled away down the drain of political ineptitude.

Those MPs who are engaged in a row with leader David Cameron and shadow cabinet colleagues over their refusal to offer lower taxes to the electorate should hang their heads in shame. We already have the highest personal debt of any country in Europe and our collective credit card debt is more than the rest of Europe added together, give people more money to buy credit with and the economy will tip over like a drunk on New Years Eve.

"Sound money is the only sustainable path to lower taxes. It is also the bedrock upon which we build simpler, flatter, and fairer taxes," Osborne said and he reiterated David Cameron's promise that the party would "share the proceeds of growth" between lower taxes and increases in public spending." He added that "We must win the argument on the economy. We will never do that if people believe our tax policy comes at the expense of their public services," he said.

He's right you know, but is he right enough for some people?