A taxing debate

Daniel Finkelstein has been fighting a heroic but rather lonely battle warning those of us on the right about the limitations of the tax-cutting message. He’s been on the lookout for what he wonderfully terms “punk tax-cutters” and he and I have an exchange of emails on the subject in this week’s magazine – read it here. He didn’t quite give me the savaging he did poor old Nick Clegg. But then again, I’m not for unfunded tax cuts. As far as I know, no Conservative is either.

I’ve always seen this charge as an Aunt Sally. Gordon Brown surely qualifies as a punk-tax cutter given that he announced an unfunded cut before the Crewe by-election and will doubtless do so again on Monday. But Tories have always wanted permanent, funded tax cuts – I mean, can any CoffeeHouser name any MP who has every argued otherwise? In my view, the Cameroons spent too long tilting at these Tory windmills, when there were real-life, cash-squandering dragons to slay on the Labour benches.

I understand Danny’s point that a James Review/Grace Commission exercise can be fodder for Labour in a campaign, and he illustrates in our exchange how any tax-cutting proposal can be nit-picked. But this should not stop Cameron doing what’s right. Brown will say “Tory cuts” whatever; it’s the only song he knows how to sing. The nation will be bored of it.

By the way, I’ve notice how it’s Cameron who has been doing the heavy lifting in the last few days, and Philip Hammond who’s doing Question Time tonight. So where’s Osborne? I like to think he’s away been doing some Karate Kid-style training, with Nigel Lawson or someone of that vintage as Mr Miyagi. If anyone has forgotten how that saga ends, here’s a reminder...