Peter Hoskin

Dithering Tories?

I wrote earlier that the George Osborne’s approach to tax cuts may “reduce to a tortoise-hare debate”.  By characterising the Tories as “ditherers” over tax, Ben Chu of Open House feeds ammo to those on Team Hare:

“The Conservative leadership attacks Gordon Brown for being a “ditherer” and ordering endless reviews to put off making decisions. But the Tories are not averse to such delaying tactics themselves. Today the shadow chancellor George Osborne has established a review of taxation policy to be headed by the Tory grandee Lord Howe. But what about the Conservative economic policy review from John Redwood which last summer proposed, in the words of its author, “a tax cut by any other name”? And before that, in October 2006, there was Michael Forsyth’s report for the party which recommended £21bn in tax cuts. I suppose one could say that at least when Gordon Brown dithers he dithers over many different decisions.

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