ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

Osborne wants 3p corporation tax cut - paid for by scrapping of reliefs

This morning's Financial Times leads on a Tory proposal to reduce corporation tax from 30% to 27%.  The cut would be paid for by ending many of the reliefs that currently exist within the corporation tax system.

“This is an entirely self-contained, and self-financing, simplification of the business tax system,” George Osborne told the newspaper.

Mr Osborne's intervention will be seen as a preemptive strike before Wednesday's Budget - Mr Brown's last.  The FT:

"Treasury officials have repeatedly indicated that Wednesday’s Budget will be substantial in scope. There were indications on Sunday that Mr Brown could be planning sweeping changes in business taxation, personal tax and welfare reform."

According to The Sun, Mr Brown is planning a swoop on larger cars:

"Gas-guzzling 4x4s face a massive hike in road tax bills, Gordon Brown will announce in Wednesday’s Budget.  The cost will double to more than £400 by 2010, say industry sources.  The Chancellor wants to single out off-roaders like Range Rovers and BMW X5s that spew out huge amounts of carbon dioxide.  In last year’s Budget Mr Brown included them in his new Band G of road tax that pays £210 a year.  Eco-friendly cars with rock bottom emissions in Band A will pay NO tax at all."

Back from Nottingham

As I head back to Salisbury here are a few random reflections on the Nottingham Spring Forum...

Although attendance seemed slightly down it was a very well-organised conference and all credit to Fingerprint Events for that.  Picking up my pass from Accreditation was a fast and perfectly pleasant process.  If Fingerprint can deliver the same service in the autumn they will deserve further plaudits.

David Cameron has decided to directly address the 'will-say-anything-to-get-elected' concern by adopting some tough positions and determining to stick at them.   His green tax proposal (not supported by this website or the majority of party members) isn't popular with voters and his support for marriage and the family (this website's favourite feature of Project Cameron) upsets some metropolitan commentators - but both crucially suggest that David Cameron has some inner steel and the positive contribution that makes to 'the Cameron brand' could be more important than reactions to any individual policies.  This, regular readers may remember, was recommendation two in ConservativeHome's list of twelve recommendations for Mr Cameron's second year as leader.  Two other key recommendations (on the north and the A-list are already well on their way to being adopted).

I enjoyed a very friendly conversation with David Cameron at yesterday evening's BBC reception.  He told me that he's a regular reader of ConservativeHome but we spent most time talking about his appearance at yesterday's doctor's rally (the big media hit of the weekend) and an address he is giving to the Conservative Christian Fellowship on William Wilberforce later this week.  Mr Cameron described me as a "theocon" - a badge I am happy to wear!  I also bumped into an even more powerful figure in the Conservative Party - Steve Hilton.  We discussed a number of strategic issues but I won't repeat any of it here because I want him to talk to me again!

I 'had a go' at Andrew Scadding of the BBC at their reception (paid for by us licence fee payers) for failing to conduct even one interview with BBC whistle-blower Robin Aitken.  Andrew is very straight-dealing and he has kindly promised to come back to me with an explanation of why the Corporation doesn't hesitate to headline internal critics of the Tories/ White House/ big business but can't find one slot to respond to Robin Aitken's comprehensive examination of BBC bias.

Alistair Burt MP was impressive during this morning's Q&A on the NHS.  He persuasively argued that it was vital that Gordon Brown was married to all of the failures of the Blair years - many of which (pensions, tax, waste) he is, of course, personally responsible for.  Someone out there should definitely come up with a campaign to fix Blair and Brown together in the public mind.

A most enjoyable part of the weekend was dinner last night with Jean Eaglesham of the FT, Brendan Carlin of The Telegraph and Danny Kruger of the leader's office.  If you see more links to Brendan's Little & Large blog over the next few weeks it will be as a small thank you for last night's generosity.

Last year Spring Forum attendees were given that much-mocked 'don't overfill your kettle' leaflet.  This year we received two cards - one setting out the party's seven priorities and one focusing on the party's NHS campaign.  A scan of them both can be viewed below (click to enlarge).

The Tory improvement is historically modest... but probably firmer

I heard Peter Kellner of YouGov on Radio 4's World This Weekend earlier and he contended that today's Tory YouGov poll lead of 6% was quite modest given that we were in the middle of a parliament.  I happen to agree that the Conservative advantage (9% in the ConservativeHome Poll of Polls) is a little modest but only because of the nature of Labour's difficulties - not because of the stage of the parliament.  The days of governments making unpopular decisions at the start of parliaments before rolling out the goodies closer to elections are largely gone.  Labour works the media on a daily basis and Brown has been bribing voters with taxpayers' money and Tony Blair has been trumpeting tough-on-crime measures ever since they were elected and re-elected.  Voters have probably never been more suspicious of politicians and big swings are unlikely to greet any close-to-election announcements.  The Conservative Party's opinion poll improvement has been more modest than might have been expected ten or twenty years ago but it is unlikely to go down quickly either.  Voters, who now consume little political media, take longer to reassess political parties and movements are now going to be more gradual.  I expect Gordon Brown's installation as Labour leader to improve Labour's position (at least for a little while during a honeymoon period of media limelight) but it will be a few percentage points of gain - certainly not much more than 5% unless he has something very dramatic up his sleeve.

I also believe that Mr Kellner was wrong to imply that the 5%, 6% and 7% that YouGov records for UKIP and BNP is sourced from the disaffected right of the Conservative Party.  My guess is that much of the BNP vote, in particular, comes straight from the Labour-voting heartlands.

Cameron: I'll take the tough decisions

David Cameron has used his Spring Forum address to show that he is not a politician who'll say anything to get elected but will make the tough decisions in Britain's interests:

"If last year was all about change, then this year is more about grit - the gritty determination to say where we stand on the big issues, to stick to our guns, to take tough decisions.  And when the right thing to say is unpopular, to say it anyway, because it's right."

"[Gordon Brown] says he's against green taxes. He's telling people what they want to hear - that you can go green without paying the price. That's not leadership, that's not substance."

"It's only easy to do the softer things, like talk about how much your family means to you.  But it's only when you do the tough things that people know you're serious."

Download PDF of full Cameron speech

More later.

We've paid the taxes - where has the money gone?

"For every extra £100 that Brown has spent since 1997, only £30 has been used to improve frontline public services. Thanks to the way he has run the Treasury, the rest has gone on cost-inflation, bureaucracy and waste." - George Osborne writing in The Sunday Times

Unpopular green taxes fail to dent Tory lead

Both the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Times have surveys on voter attitudes to green taxation.  The idea of such taxation gets a big thumbs down but David Cameron is - overall - seen as greener than Gordon Brown and the headline Tory lead over Labour is intact at 6% (YouGov) and 7% (BPIX for the MoS).

Here are they key green numbers from The Sunday Times:

• 21% choose Cameron as greener than Brown (7%);
• By 63% to 21% people thought green taxation was about raising taxes rather than climate change;
• "69% object to more congestion charging and road-pricing; and 60% are against Cameron’s proposal for an increase in taxes on cheap flights";
• By 42% to 36% there is support for building more nuclear power stations.

The Mail on Sunday/ BPIX numbers are summarised in the graphic on the right.  The overall Tory lead with Brown in charge does not really justify Jonathan Oliver's "Cameron's green tax on air travel a massive voter loser" headline.  Despite the unpopularity of green taxes the Tory lead is stable.  It may be that the lead would have been larger without the green tax controversy and it might be that a campaign by airlines/ Labour against levies on flights could yet do damage to the Tories.  It is also possible, however, that the controversy has helped Cameron to address some voters' perception that he will 'say anything to anyone.'  On both the family and green taxation he has recently chosen to stake out positions that are either controversial with opinion-formers or with large sections of the electorate and the overall effect of this might be to suggest that he is a politician with core beliefs - not just a weather vane.

What voters cannot stand is hypocrisy and news that David Cameron took a ninety mile flight from Oxford to Hereford just two months ago makes the Tory leader vulnerable to the 'do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do' charge.  Labour's John Healey MP said that "it just shows that Cameron believes there's one rule for him and his Tory friends, and another for the rest of us."

The Sunday MIrror is also accusing Mr Cameron of hypocrisy after going through his rubbish bins and finding unrecycled cardboard, plastic and nappies.

Related link: 18 Doughty Street's climate hypocrisy video.

6% Tory lead

Graphics to follow later but YouGov poll in tomorrow's Sunday Times gives the Tories a 38% to 32% lead.

4.45pm update on Sunday:

The 9% lead in the ConservativeHome Poll of Polls is the largest in the series.  It may rise after May's local elections if the Tories do well and David Cameron gains a 'halo effect' but will probably erode over the summer when Labour enjoys disproportionate media attention for its leadership succession (providing it doesn't get too bloody).

Notes from Nottingham

William Hague's speech: A few weeks ago I wrote for The Guardian's Comment is free and welcomed the more balanced Conservatism of recent months.  The messages of modernisation are being blended with grittier messages on Europe, tax and crime.  'The politics of and' is certainly on show here at the Nottingham Spring Forum with much emphasis on the NHS and crime... on greenery and the importance of the family.  This is what William Hague said earlier today:

"So when some commentators write that the Conservative party should simply stick to its well-worn grooves, I say they're wrong. I say the challenges we face are so great, that party loyalties among younger voters are so weak, and that the failure of Labour across the board is so absolute, that the time has indeed come for us to fight with as much confidence for a cleaner environment and a better health service as we have always fought for strong defence and fairer tax. That our task is to show that social responsibility, bringing out the best in families and communities and not just relying on the state, is the only way to face the great social and environmental crises of our time."

Mr Hague (under a little fire for his outside interests) used his speech to set out five broad principles to guide Conservative foreign policy:

1. The return of Cabinet-style foreign policy decision-making - in contrast with Tony Blair's "decade of sofa-style decision making";
2. For Britain's "permanent friendship" with the USA to be coupled with "honest criticism" but nothing to disrupt the  diplomatic, intelligence and security links between our two nations;
3. Greater investment in relations with the Asia-Pacific region with "much increased attention on the many friendly nations of the Middle East";
4. Reform of multilateral institutions  EU, NATO and the UN;
5. A defence of our basic values across the world - "a strong attachment to human rights, a belief in the rule of law, the defence of political freedom, the promotion of economic liberalism, and humanitarian intervention when it is sensible and practical."

George Osborne's speech: The Shadow Chancellor gave an upbeat assessment of the party's prospects in his address:

"You wouldn't have believed me if I'd said to you, back in the days after our last election defeat, that less than two years later we would be ahead of our opponents, in command of local government, dictating the political pace and, above all, setting the agenda of ideas.  But we are, thanks to you, thanks to our courage to change, and thanks to David Cameron - who has defied the armchair critics, stuck to his guns and put us in a position where we can now win the next General Election."

He called on Gordon Brown to put the NHS at the heart of Wednesday's Budget:

"In every part of this country there are local hospitals facing closure, nurses facing the axe and junior doctors left in limbo.  The chancellor's financial mismanagement has led to ward closures, job losses and patients travelling further for their care.  So Gordon Brown should make Budget Day NHS Day.  He should set out the National Health Service's budget for the next three years, so the health professionals can start to plan for the long term now.  We've already had the three-year budgets for the Home Office, the schools capital budget and the Treasury itself.  So why not the NHS? He must have done the sums. Let's have them."

Liam Fox on defence: The Shadow Defence Secretary spoke to a gathering of Conservative Future about defence policy (at 36 I probably shouldn't have been there).  Dr Fox addressed the issues of energy security, the rise of Russia and the threat of Iran-driven nuclear proliferation.  And, in the best line of Conference so far, he noted that hawks tended to live a lot longer than doves.

William Hague under fire for outside interests

Simon McGee, Political Editor of the Yorkshire Post, effectively accuses William Hague of being a part-time Shadow Foreign Secretary in this morning's edition of the newspaper:

"William Hague has earned up to £400,000 from after-dinner speeches since returning to the Conservative front bench as David Cameron's top lieutenant.  Despite assurances that he would slash his personal business commitments, Mr Hague has not only kept all his non-executive directorships and advisory posts, but added another position during the 15 months since Mr Cameron appointed him Shadow Foreign Secretary and de facto deputy party leader.  His portfolio of extra jobs now stands at five.  The Yorkshire Post can also reveal that the Richmond MP took time out from the 2005 General Election campaign to act as a paid speaker at five commercial functions, netting him more than £30,000.  They included two appearances in London with just a week to go to polling day."

Former MP Michael Bates who is Mr Hague's deputy on the new northern board for the party, rejected the Yorkshire Post's criticism:

"Anyone that knows his work rate knows that his party and const-ituency come first and these he gives great service to.  He spends 95 per cent of his time working for the party. His income has fallen by two-thirds in terms of speaking engagements since he returned."

Does Blair look bovvered?

A reminder of Blair from his best and most politically potent days... Very funny and there's no way Brown will ever connect in the same way with voters.

"New priorities for a new era"

The above graphic is a scan of the programme for this weekend's Tory Spring conference in Nottingham.  Robert Halfon, our candidate in Harlow, compared the five key themes to the ten words which Michael Howard employed at the last General Election.

Of the new five themes it seems that "better public services" will be topping the agenda in Nottingham and healthcare, in particular.  David Cameron will address a rally of thousands of junior doctors in London this morning, according to The Telegraph, and Andrew Lansley yesterday announced a major emphasis on public health that reminds The Telegraph of Sir Norman Fowler's late 1980s public health campaign against AIDS.  The Tories want to move the heathcare system to a much greater focus on prevention and the Health Secretary will be renamed Secretary of State for Public Health.

10.30am update: According to the Nottingham Evening Post - in line with the "safer streets" theme - we can expect a big emphasis on policing: "David Cameron would like an elected mayor or police commissioner to run Nottingham's police force.  The Tory leader wants to see a direct line of responsibility for crime fighting, similar to that which has proved successful in US cities, like New York. At the Conservative Party Spring Forum, which begins in Nottingham today and will attended by 2,500 Tories, Mr Cameron will outline a "radical reform" of policing."

Tories urged to accelerate selections

An article in this morning's Daily Telegraph - using data from this website's Seats and candidates blog - notes that 32 of the 116 seats that the Conservatives need to win in order to enjoy a parliamentary majority are yet to adopt candidates.  The Telegraph highlights seats such as Westmorland and Lonsdale, Gillingham and Rainham, and Rochester and Strood.  It seems increasingly unlikely that Gordon Brown will call a quick General Election on becoming Prime Minister - which despite continuing talk of a Miliband challenge - looks the most likely outcome of any Labour leadership race.  There is absolutely no reason for panic, therefore.  What The Telegraph piece does remind us, however, is that early selection is important for candidate success.  The case for choosing early was set out in a paper by David Burrowes MP last May.  In 'Pick 'em local and Pick 'em early' the Conservative MP for Enfield Southgate concluded that early selection gave candidates the opportunity to command local recognition and understandings that were key determinants of victory.

Tory members embrace Cameron's family agenda but reject the green tax plans

ConservativeHome.com has just completed its March survey of Conservative Party members.  1,320 Tory members took part in an online survey on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th March.  The latest results are summarised below.  More detailed posts will follow over the next few days.

70% of Tory members are satisfied with David Cameron (29% "very") and 29% are dissatisfied (13% "very").

77% expect David Cameron to be Prime Minister after the next General Election.

69% say that the Conservative Party is on the right course but 25% believe that it is on the wrong track.

David Davis is the most popular member of the shadow cabinet.

Party members are less than impressed with this week's Conservative Party consultation on green taxation.  54% think that climate change should be tackled through technology rather than taxation.  48% think green taxes within Britain are "pointless" because "any reduction in British emissions will be quickly overtaken by the industrial activity of fast-growing countries like India and China."  Only 31% of members agreed with the following statement of Tory policy; "Higher taxation of air travel, as long as it is offset by lower taxes on businesses and families, is essential if we are to tackle the problem of climate change."

Party members are much more likely to support David Cameron's family policy.  86% agree that family breakdown is a leading cause of failure at school, juvenile offending and unhappiness.  72% agree with the proposal for a married couples' tax allowance.

41% believe that the House of Lords should stay as it is.  38% believe that it should be fully or largely democratic.  10% support a fully-appointed Upper House.

By a thin margin - 48% to 43% - members believe that David Cameron was wrong to force Patrick Mercer's resignation.

More audio, less visual

Dr Frank Luntz, the celebrity pollster who "created Cameron", will paint a depressing picture of voters' attitudes to politicians on Newsnight tonight:

"Listening to the British electorate talk about politics is like listening to parents on a football pitch gripe about the referee. The last time I heard such discontent, frustration and genuine hostility to political leaders was in May 1997 - and we all know what happened next."

Sceptics will take his findings with a pinch of salt - his pool of opinion consisted of just 25 people in Birmingham - but his advice to David Cameron seems wise:

"After a decade of "soundbite culture", voters are more savvy and more wary of anybody who seems too good to be true. Cameron's policy pronouncements continue to prove that he is not a return to the "old Tories" of the 1980s. His challenge - not to be seen as a return to Tony Blair. For him, more audio and less visual would be a wise approach."

Luntz found that perceived PR stunts such as holding his newborn had "a poisonous impact" on the panel's perception of Cameron. They were most positive about him when talking about non-traditional Tory issues such as "individuality in education" and even stability before tax cuts. There's an obvious problem with a Tory leader talking about un-Tory policies, however:

"The Tory leader has been testing the loyalty of some die-hard Conservatives with his new stance on Europe (join in to shape the debate, he says), his tougher approach to business, his wooing of public servants and the softer social justice tones embodied in what has come to be termed his "hug-a-hoody" proposals. But what the refuseniks within the party also realise is that thanks to Mr Cameron's stewardship, the party is beginning to look - for the first time in more than a decade - like it has a realistic chance of forming a government."

There will be a largely positive atmosphere at Spring Forum this weekend, but the patience of members will have to be rewarded with some solid, principled policies in the coming months.

Deputy Editor

Are you better off than you were four years ago?

The Centre for Policy Studies has today released a short 'Perspective paper' by Charlie Elphicke: Are you better off than you were four years ago?  PDF here.

The paper notes that the "real growth in average incomes has stagnated over the last four years (averaging just 0.5% a year), particularly when compared with income growth in the first period of Labour government (when income growth averaged 4.7% a year in real terms)."

The CPS concludes:

"Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" was the "killer question" asked by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential debate. Asked today, the answer of the average UK household would be a resounding: "NO!"

I'm wondering if this theme could be a potent campaign ad for 18DoughtyStreet.com?  Stagnating disposable incomes + rising utility bills + rising cost of buying a home... It certainly fits in with the Year of the Striver theme.

Related links: Charles Elphicke on YourPlatform.

Francis Maude: The Republicans are our sister party

Tory Chairman Francis Maude spoke to ConservativeHome/ 18DoughtyStreet.com yesterday evening at a reception organised by the excellent Lesley Taylor for Conservatives Abroad and Republicans Abroad.  Francis answered questions on...

• The Conservative-GOP relationship - he insisted that the GOP was absolutely the Tories' sister party despite reports to the contrary;
• Why Al Gore was addressing the Tories today;
• Why he was now intending to confound Tamzin Lightwater with his new optimism about the party's prospects ahead of the Nottingham Conference; and
• Why this week's controversy over green taxes showed that the Tories were very serious about the environment.

The three minute video below was recorded to the background of a busy reception but it's just about audible and certainly worth the effort.  I'll be taking my minirecorder to Nottingham this weekend and will aim to record other interviews for your enlightenment!

Do we really need another Eurosceptic pressure group?

Ruth Lea has written for this morning's Sun about the launch of Global Vision - "a campaign group calling for a new approach to Britain's relationship with Europe."  A leader in The Sun certainly gives Global Vision's aims a warm welcome:

"Instead of an “ever closer union” demanded by Euro-fanatics, Britain needs an “ever LOOSER union” so that we can continue to prosper and grow without the dead hand of Brussels round our necks."

Ruth Lea's article makes a convincing case for a "more modern relationship" with Europe - with less British subsidy of the Brussels superstate and less entanglement with its regulatory web but I'm not convinced she is adding anything new to the debate.  We already have the Bruges Group, the Better Off Out campaign working with elected officials and political activists, there's Bill Cash's European Foundation and, for intellectual leadership and with a record of running good campaigns, we have Open Europe.  I'll stop there.  We all know that there are a number of other Eurosceptic groups.  When I first heard of Ruth Lea's initiative - some months ago - I had understood that it was going to be a cross-party campaign for leaving the EU altogether.  It has backtracked from that and is now looking a lot more like Open Europe.

I'll wait and see what Global Vision becomes (can't yet find a website for it) and where it chooses to sit on the Eurosceptic spectrum.  I certainly hope that it doesn't become another worthy think tank churning out research papers.  If there is a weakness within Britain's conservative movement it is that there are too many think tanks and not enough campaigning organisations.  If Global Vision is to succeed it must be more like the TaxPayers' Alliance and less like the Centre for Policy Studies (the directorship of which is Ms Lea's day job).

Related link: The growth of right thinking

Both opposition leaders focus on Trident at PMQs

David Cameron used his first four questions to make the case for, and urge Blair to make the case for,  Trident. Blair agreed with his statement that "in a dangerous and uncertain world, unilateral nuclear disarmament has never been the answer". Cameron's line of questioning had echoes of the education reforms, with Cameron making much of the fact that the vote would go through due to Conservative votes - so Blair didn't have to appease Labour rebels.

He asked Blair specifically to reiterate that the replacement proposals wouldn't breach non-proliferation treaty obligations as the number of missiles was going to be reduced (as it did with previous Labour and Conservative governments), that replacing Trident was in the national interest, and that tonight's vote would be the final vote.

As usual, there was a big cheer for Ming Campbell and a lot of chatter whilst he was talking. He said that our nuclear threat comes from other countries getting weapons, and asked what role the government would take in a 2010 conference on nuclear weapons. He said Blair should commit to reducing the number of missiles now to put the government in a stronger position for said conference. Blair said there were already commitments of that nature, and came back with a good line after Ming had used his two questions. He recalled Ming saying a few days ago that he would not sit on the fence - great laughter in the House - and asserted that that is precisely what he was doing on the Trident issue.

Julian Lewis, the Shadow Defence Secretary, made the case for Trident on ToryDiary yesterday.

Cameron had quite a technical debate with Blair during his last couple of questions, regarding the nature of the military facilities at Birmingham's Sellyoak hospital. Cameron was calling for a dedicated military facility where wounded soldiers are surrounded by their comrades, rather than merely a military managed facility. Blair said the previous Conservative government had rightly phased out military hospitals.

Deputy Editor

Edward Heath's dying wish is refused by local Tories

Fascinating story in the Western Daily Press.  Local Conservative councillors have vetoed Edward Heath's wish for his beautiful home in the Salisbury Cathedral's Close, Arundells, to become a museum.  I often blog from inside the Close when I'm at home.  The former Tory Prime Minister has had his dying wish refused after neighbours objected to his wish to see his home converted into a visitor centre:

"Sir Ted wanted his collection of art and mementos, including gifts from world leaders such as Fidel Castro, Chairman Mao and Saddam Hussein, to be seen by the public.  But Salisbury district councillors have blocked the plan after considering the views of many of Sir Ted's former neighbours.  Some 16 people objected to the scheme, claiming it would ruin the unspoiled and peaceful character and setting of majestic Salisbury Cathedral."

The Daily Press article notes that a leading supporter of Ted Heath's ambition was a Liberal Democrat local councillor, Paul Sample.  "I think opening this magnificent house, with all of its mementoes, would be a fine testament to Sir Edward. I cannot understand why anyone would want to prevent it happening," Cllr Sample said.

Have your say in ConservativeHome's March survey

The latest ConservativeHome survey is now online.  In addition to the regular tracker questions there are questions on green taxation, family policy, House of Lords reform and the Patrick Mercer episode.

Click here to take survey

Appeal for funds

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Save on your council tax with the Tories if you greenify your home

After a bad few days of press coverage for their airline tax proposals the front page of this morning's Telegraph suggests that the Tories are prepared to use carrots as well as sticks to encourage the nation to 'go green':

"In an attempt to swing more people behind his green crusade, [David Cameron's] advisers are looking at how local authorities could offer one-off council tax reductions for homeowners who agree to improvements that would greatly cut their energy use.  Another idea is to offer a rebate on stamp duty if and when owners undertake "green improvements", such as double glazing, the installation of solar panels for water heating or cavity insulation."

One of the dangers of this approach - and of the 2,000 green air miles allowance also proposed by the Tories - is the bureaucracy that it might necessitate.

After Gordon Brown's decision to eschew any further taxes on air travel the airline industry is considering a massive publicity campaign to target Tory and LibDem support for extra levies on flights.

The great Adam Smith

Fantastic!  That's what I thought when I heard that Bank of England governor Mervyn King had decided to put Adam Smith's image on the reverse of the new £20 note.   In celebration here are a few quotes from the great man:

The wonder of free markets: “Every individual... generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.”

The benefits of self-interest: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”

The preconditions for wealth: “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.”

Monopolistic behavioiur: “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.”

Relative poverty matters: "By necessaries I understand not only the commodities which are indispensably necessary for the support of life, but whatever the custom of the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even of the lowest order, to be without. A linen shirt, for example, is, strictly speaking, not a necessary of life. The Greeks and Romans lived, I suppose, very comfortably though they had no linen. But in the present times, through the greater part of Europe, a creditable day-labourer would be ashamed to appear in public without a linen shirt, the want of which would be supposed to denote that disgraceful degree of poverty which, it is presumed, nobody can well fall into without extreme bad conduct. Custom, in the same manner, has rendered leather shoes a necessary of life in England. The poorest creditable person of either sex would be ashamed to appear in public without them.”

Man is a social being - not just an economic calculator: "How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it."

Samuel Coates is 'In Two Minds' about Trident

Earlier today on ConservativeHome Julian Lewis MP made a case for renewing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent.  In the video below - part of 18DoughtyStreet.com's In Two Minds series - Samuel Coates, supporter of renewal, debates with Samuel Coates, opponent of renewal.  The film was recorded before he had the benefit of Julian's arguments!

Hypocritical Brown attacks Tory air tax plans

From the man who has raised taxes eighty times and delivered a crude doubling of the air passenger duty, this is what Gordon Brown said on this morning's GMTV sofa:

"I am not going to penalise the holidaymaker and I am not going to penalise people who have got to travel for all sorts of reasons on domestic flights and I don't think the Conservative proposals are properly costed or thought-out and I think people will be very angry about that."

The Telegraph and Sun continue to attack the Tory plans, too.  After noting that 400,000 people with 'homes in the sun' will be caught by the green air travel taxes under consideration, a Telegraph leader concludes:

"Mr Cameron needs to develop an environmental programme consistent with the principles of lower taxation and free markets: one that offers economic incentives to individuals (and to businesses) to make responsible decisions, rather than just adding to the complexity of the tax system, and that recognises that government has become too big. If his answer to the problem of global warming is higher taxes, he is wrong."

The Sun is more direct:

"It makes us uneasy that Mr Cameron’s first detailed policy is a new tax. We can’t see him winning votes by stinging holidaymakers or businesses for flying more than 2,000 miles a year.  Neither can we see that forcing people to go from Manchester to London on jammed roads or sardine-special trains, instead of by air, improves anyone’s lot.  Mr Cameron claims it will all pay for other, unspecified tax cuts.  So is his real aim to save the planet — or to fund an election bribe?"