Not just broke - but squeezed too

Yesterday's launch of a campaign on the rising cost of living while our wages stutter shows how badly Labour has been handling the economy.  The cost of living report sets out brilliantly and relentlessly just how much the costs of necessities have gone up while the amount of money we have is going nowhere.

Why now after ten years of Labour?  It's been a game of two halves.  The first five years saw Labour benefit from the reforms we had put through to strengthen our growth rate as well as coinciding with the start of the rise of India and China which initially kept costs down.  The position has reversed in the last five years due to Labour's policies which tend to slow growth and the strengthening of India and China which adds to their demand ability to raise prices.  Labour is guilty because they lay down and basked while the sun shone instead of making hay.   It's a price we're all now paying. 

It will take some time for an incoming Conservative Government to sort out the mess. This is why, although I am a natural tax cutter, I think David Cameron is right to steer away from crowd pleasing promises. That said, the report does set out quite a few good ideas on what a Conservative Government would do to improve things.

Comments

[Richard Calhoun]

I agree that Cameron should not make crowd pleasing promises but this does not preclude the Tories of stating that the objective is to put ourselves in a position to cut taxes and dramatically reduce public spending.

It will obviously take the best part of 5 years to put ourselves in this position but it would be beneficial to all to have a programme spelt out as to how it could be achieved

[David Belchamber]

There is no harm in stating and restating that we as a party are natural tax cutters, and we will cut taxes when in a position to do so.
After a number of years of Brown's mismanagement of the economy, however - a typical tax and spend Labour Chancellor - his legacy in 2 years' time will be a mountain of debt and waste which will have to be reduced first.

[MDC]

"It will take some time for an incoming Conservative Government to sort out the mess. This is why, although I am a natural tax cutter, I think David Cameron is right to steer away from crowd pleasing promises."

I agree. Obviously the best way to deal with a clear problem is to leave it alone. A radical policy of sticking our fingers in our ears and chanting "lalala" at the top of our voice is likely to work just as well.

Seriously though, what exactly are Cameroons suggesting that they will do differently from Labour? Labour's made a mess of things, but the Conservatives aren't an opposition anymore, at least not on economic matters - why should they get our votes (and thereby our endorsement of the post-war style cross-bench economic consensus that has implausibly emerged from Labour's incompetence)?

[Graeme Pirie]

Not a bad report but it does fail to point out that total taxation has increased by 75% over inflation since 1997.

The tax take is now over 505 Billion compared to 287 in 1997. I don't want to "share the proceeds of growth" - I want less of my money taken and squandered.

We also know services have not improved under Labour. (But they've created the nanny state because there's been far too much money available for quangos), Squeeze the spending, improve the value.

Cameron will inherit that tax base & should EASILY be able to save Billions. So lets have some up front promises - how about a commitment to work towards the maximum tax take of 30% of GDP.

Scrap working tax credit and raise the tax thresholds in line with minimum wage - 11K. That in itself would show as a huge tax cut.