Wednesday, May 28, 2008

A beaut from Mr Clegg

In the Telegraph today, Nick Clegg says that Tory policy makes as much sense as a Turner prize entry and that the Tories are "elevating policy evasion to an art form":

Cameron cries crocodile tears for the poor families affected by the doubling of the 10p tax rate, but his one and only tax policy is to cut inheritance tax for the richest six per cent of people. He has supported calls for "food security" - code for protectionism - but also lectured the World Trade Organisation on the importance of free trade. He tells us to "go green", but won't commit to specific policies to help us. He has preached about personal privacy, but wants to abolish Data Protection laws. Like Labour, he promises to decentralise, but steers clear of explaining how or when.Tory policy makes about as much sense as a Turner prize entry.

Currently, this incoherence is the Tory party's greatest strength: they can't be pinned to anything people don't like. But it's no serious programme for government. It offers nothing to people concerned about knife crime, or worried about higher fuel bills. The public has been promised the moon on a stick by Mr Cameron. Soon they will start to ask how he'll get it for them - and a gleaming smile won't be enough.

Politics is about choices between competing ideas, not just agreeing with everyone. It's because we understand this that the Liberal Democrats speak in detail about how we would deliver a more liberal Britain. We are the only party committed to cutting taxes for low and middle income families at the next election. We're committed to fair pensions for women, and the immediate restoration of the earnings link - while the other parties just talk about doing something for pensioners, possibly, some day.

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