Monthly Archives: May 2010

I have often argued we need to tax the rich more – ever popular with Lib Dems and Labour. The way to do it is to lower the rates. The Adam Smith Institute has just sent out the figures for the impact on capital gains tax collection from raising and lowering rates in the USA [...]

Today we will learn the full list of reducitons in spending to take this year’s total down by £6 billion. This is a most welcome development, because for the first time the UK government will be acknowledging the problem of the collosal deficit needs tackling immediately. For the first time in years a government will [...]

Dear Mr Clegg, Congratulations on your appointment as Deputy Prime Minister. I was pleased to read a copy of your first speech in that role, where you set out an excellent agenda for strengthening our civil liberties and repealing measures taken by the last government. You have invited contributions of items to include in your [...]

It was good to see in today’s Teleraph Mr Cameron say he did not like the 50p tax rate, and say the Treasury will now look at its impact on revenue. Income tax was boosted heavily at the end of the last financial year as companies and individuals made prompt payments of pay and bonuses [...]

A few of you have made enquiries concerning the future of this august body. I have not been making public statements about it, as it is an internal party matter. I prefer to use my media appearances to talk about things that matter to many people, and have a direct impact on the daily lives [...]

I welcome Liam Fox’s statement today that the new government is actively looking at ways to accelerate the departure of our troops from Afghanistan. He is right to say “No” to any new mission in a new province there for them, and right to concentrate on faster withdrawal. We have lost too many young lives [...]

Mr Cameron should of course be charming, polite and friendly to the German Leader. He should feel no need to seek favour or to apologise for the UK’s healthy Euroscepticism. He should speak truth to power. He should say that our scepticism about joining the Euro has made the problem of the Euro much less, [...]

This morning a pro EU person was allowed uninterrupted airtime on the Today programme to tell us France and Germany have fallen out so now is a great moment for the UK to have influence. He went on to dismiss the positions of the smaller member states and the olive belt countries as so many [...]

Yesterday Mr Clegg made a speech saying the Coalition government will ensure “the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state”. That’s good news. The back-up detail, coming from both the Conservartive and the Lib Dem Manifesto, makes good reading. They will abolish the ID card scheme, [...]

As forecast here, UK inflation is high, rising and persistent, owing to the weakness of sterling. What will the Monetary Policy Committee tell us now? Why isn’t inflation subsiding already as they promised? Why is it so far over target? Was printing £200 billion extra cash to help the last government such a good idea? [...]