In other news, the Lib Dem conference
James Forsyth 3:13pm
Spare a thought for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats. Their conference, one of the best chances for them to get some proper coverage, is being over-shadowed by the banking crisis and the Labour leadership plotting. This is a pity as the Lib Dems seem to be trying to reposition themselves on the political spectrum.
First, they have committed to cutting taxes and public spending. This is going to change the tone of the debate about this subject in a way that favours proponents of a smaller state. Second, they have de-emphasised their pro-Europeanism —an indication, as Andrew Neil notes, that they really are worried about losing their seats in the south-west to the Tories.
But the Lib Dems do appear to be genuinely moving towards a harder-edged liberalism. Vince Cable’s plan to make those in the public sector who are earning six figure salaries reapply for their jobs is an excellent idea and one—as Tim Montgomerie argues—that the Tories should adopt too. There has been a self-serving trend in recent years for agency officials to be awarded private sector-style salaries but with public sector levels of benefits and job security; this is something that a prudent government would clamp down on.
In a way, the Lib Dems missed their chance in 2005. This kind of Liberal Democrat platform could have far more successfully exploited unease with Michael Howard’s campaign and the Tory tone in 2005 than the one they ran on. This time out, they’re mostly trying to hang onto their Tory seats and trying to take Labour seats while moving rightwards. It is a complicated political straddle. If Labour were to get a new leader who moved the party in a populist, left wing direction, the Lib Dems could end up being squeezed from both sides.
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Nick Kaplan
September 15th, 2008 3:51pm Report this commentWhen Clegg was interviewed on the Daily Politics this morning it became clear that his tax cutting proposal is just an exercise in spin.
Although he says he is going to cut public spending by £20 Billion he actually clarified that he is going to redirect that money to a more local level. So what Clegg is really proposing is not a reduction in the size of the state but a redirection of funds from central to local levels, i.e. he is going to take money from bureaucrats at the centre and let it be wasted by bureaucrats in councils instead.
As for tax cuts he is going to fund these by raising taxes on the rich. For example he talked on the Daily Politics about increasing the rate of Capital Gains tax to make the system more ‘fair’ (fair being newspeak for motivated by envy). There is a huge amount of empirical evidence that shows that higher levels of Capital Gains Tax actually reduces the revenue raised by the treasury as capital is so mobile in today’s globalised market. Therefore one can only conclude that such a policy is meant to address the emotional appeal of envy (always a good vote winner), rather than being a practical revenue raising policy. If Clegg really cared about fairness he would lower capital gains in order to encourage investment and help save jobs in these difficult economic times. It is self evidently ludicrous to raise capital gains tax when the city is about to enter a recession and when capital is so mobile. After all what use is a tax cut if one doesn’t have a job because all the job creating investment has been driven abroad?
On another note, do you think it is possible to sue the Lib Dems under the Trade Descriptions Act on account of the fact they are neither liberal (they love big government) or democratic (no referendum on EU constitution)?
Augustus
September 15th, 2008 6:12pm Report this commentThe British Liberal Democrats, whose politicians pretend to nothing more than a second division team of left-wingers, will never make much of breakthrough in parliamentary representation as long as the First Past The Post electoral system prevents them from doing so. The traditional reforming Liberal platforms of the past have long been lost to the mists of time.
David Lindsay
September 15th, 2008 6:16pm Report this commentFair play to the Lib Dems for still holding their Conference in a seaside town.
But it won't last. Like the other two, they are now run by people whose only knowledge of Britain outside London is the studenty bits of Oxford or Cambridge.
They can find their way to Manchester or Birmingham if they absolutely have to (although don't expect that to last too much longer, either).
But Bournemouth, or Blackpool, or Brighton? Forget it.
TGF UKIP
September 15th, 2008 7:58pm Report this commentWell, speak of the devil! David Lindsay I have just commented on your recent absence in another post and here you are all the time. But welcome back, anyway. Not a recurrence but a holiday, I trust.
Your post here though is spot on. City boys who go to city centre unis, then to London and bag carrying spad jobs then into Parliament and they're only too happy to brag that they don't own a car and have never learned to drive. All of which, of course, perfectly qualifies them to make transport policy, Byers being example numero uno. What makes it even worse of course , though, is most of the hacks are of exactly the same species.
We have a huge divide not just between politicians and people but between media and people.
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