Thursday, August 7, 2008

A game of chicken

I have to admit to being rather foxed by the story in the Guardian today, headed Lib Dems shy away from local income tax plan.

Of course, this sort of story is part of a pattern established over many years. Over July and August we get a series of newspaper articles like "LibDems to slaughter first born" or "LibDems to cede ownership of UK to Germans" or whatever...."LibDems to...[insert catalysmic action likely to lead to James Graham exploding, strewing large areas of Islington with fragments of his underpants]"

I do wonder if the party leadership sit down on July 1st with a copy of the draft conference agenda and set up a series of press releases in Outlook on "timed send" to go out over the summer, then naff off to Costa Fortune leaving the ensuing volcanic eruptions from non-holidaying party members to be played out and fielded by some poor unfortunate left holding the baby in Cowley Street.

The last para in the Guardian article, as usual, gives the game away:

Colleagues of Cable [i.e the two cleaners left in Cowley Street] were stressing that he was not abandoning the concept of the local income tax altogether, but the initial focus - in the first term of a parliament - should be on reforming the existing property tax, the council tax. The most likely reform is to add an extra band at the top for higher value properties.

Why the Sam Hill muck about with bands on the blessed council tax only to replace the whole rotting edifice a few years later when the Daily Mail reading classes have moved on to the next atrocity?

There is no point, of course. But the alternative would be to abolish the whole local income tax idea. It would never get through conference, so they are trying this little thin end of the wedge exercise. Very clever. All this pre-conference stuff is like a game of chicken isn't it - what can they get away with?

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