Are Labour wedded to stealing every Tory idea?
James Forsyth 12:15pm
Andy Burnham saying that “marriage is best for kids” and that it is “not wrong that the tax system should recognise commitment and marriage” is a victory for common sense. But it is also another example of the Brown government’s cynical opportunism and lack of any new ideas. As recently as the Labour conference, Gordon Brown was quoting scripture to suggest that the Tory commitment to encouraging marriage through the tax system was somehow un-Christian. While Harriet Harman, Brown’s deputy, lashed out at David Cameron for his pro-marriage policies, arguing that,
“Cameron's new tax allowance proposal would squander public money on those who need it least and carry the unmistakable message to children of separated couples - "There's something wrong with your family so there's something wrong with you." And just as this "message on marriage" will give no help to my constituents in Camberwell and Peckham, nor will it help any Tory MPs who, like so many others, find that their marriages aren't working out. Cameron's policy is nothing more than back to basics - with an open-necked shirt.”Presuambly, Harman will soon be denouncing Labour’s latest conveneient conversion as nothing more than back to basics with a light blue tie.
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David Davis
October 13th, 2007 7:53pm Report this commentFirtly: there is no such thing as "public money". It's yours and ours, and is thus of course stolen. As Milton Friedman said at an Adam Smith Club meeting at the IEA about 28 years ago; "Ladies and gentlemen, let us assume that to a first approximation, about 100% of all money raised in taxation is wasted....then...." (and he brought the house down!) Secondly, these b*****s are socialists. That is to say, they steal, lie, traduce and hijack. They are a parasite on the liberal (that is to say, conservative) body-politic. Without it, they shall die, just like real living parasites. They cannot afford to directly kill all market-based activity or else there will be no more socialism. Therefore they have had at some time, and it is now, to admit that one major source of their stolen wealth (which they pretend to distribute, and recipients pretend to receive) is two-parent families that stay together long enough to become part of a socalist tax-farm-scheme. I recommend readers to go to our website at http://www.libertarianalliance.co.uk for more publications about how to address this tragic and stuctural problem of failures in UK political thought over the past 100 years or thereabouts.
gerry
October 14th, 2007 11:39am Report this comment"It's not Copy and Paste - it's my Vision", said McBroon.
Perry
October 14th, 2007 11:47am Report this commentThe short answer to your question is “yes”. There are precedents for people garnering what they have not sown. Regardless of this, the provenance of the idea(s) should be firmly established, and rightful (rather than embarrassed) pride be taken in it and them. It would be lovely to think that the ‘Heir to Blair’ was intent no longer on being a ‘Boon to Broon’. Likewise, that PollyTosh had fled the Loyal Oppo.
Perry
October 15th, 2007 7:47am Report this commentJames, - on second thoughts, - and with respect, - surely an irrelevant question? How can the party that values the sanctity and importance of marriage and family, small government, low taxes, individual and collective responsibility, - ever have its policies poached by a socialist big-state party?
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