Taxing times

Cameron's Conservatives are pushing the issue of the 10% tax rate hard, but putting the evident political point scoring aside, what would they do any differently?

There has been a lot of noise in recent days over the abolition of the 10% tax rate, announced in Gordon Brown's final Budget last year. The Conservatives have been attempting to capitalise on the issue and this leaflet, according to Iain Dale, is to be delivered to the consituencies of the Labour MPs who signed an early day motion condemning the tax change.

Yet the leaflet merely promises to "oppose Labour's plans to double the 10p tax rate". Putting the technical issue of the 'plans' not being 'plans' anymore, this isn't exactly a firm commitment to reverse the decision.

In fact, the Tories can't readily promise to reverse the decision. To do so would immediately cost them £7.4bn in indexed terms this year, and nearer £9bn in future years. And that is on top of their £3.5bn pledge to change inheritance tax; and their commitments on stamp duty and tax credits.

Where would they get the money from, especially given their commitment to "match Labour's spending plans"?

And what are we to make about claims of "putting stability first" (which, ironically, comes second to "keeping the cost of living down" in the leaflet)?

Opposing everything the Government does, and promising to do it all better, may be easy for an party in opposition. But when it comes to making the difficult decisions, would Cameron's Conservatives be able to move away from their Lib Dem tendancies toward policy making whilst in opposition?

I suspect probably not.

But as far as rabble-rousing goes, being all things to all people is probably his best option...