In a recent comment to Scott Newton’s guest blog, “Why Cutting Income Tax, Cutting Red Tape and Deregulating Business is essential for the UK’s Future.” I promised to write more on UK Tax Policy.

I must add that these are my personal observations and are not intended to upset anyone…

…Including Scott who’s piece is right on the mark. (Well done Scott!)

For the past 4 years my company (www.ditg.org.uk) has been funded by the worlds largest ICT brands to establish a replacement for the Government’s Home Computing Initiative (HCI).

HCI was budget measure implemented by Gordon Brown as a Tax Incentive for employees. Under Section 320 of the Finance Act, employees could acquire up to £2500 worth computer equipment from their employer Income Tax exempt. In turn, employers enjoyed an exemption on Class 1A National Insurance on the amounts salary sacrificed by the employee.

This created an industry worth £450 Million to the UK and about 2500 related employment opportunities.

Unfortunately, the exemption was removed in Budget 2006. (It was proving too successful?)

This resulted in one of the longest cross-examinations during the reading for a finance bill in recent times. (Well worth a read on Hanson – see the below link).

The Government cited “abuse” as the reason for removing the benefit and pledged to “refocus efforts on those most in need”. Check out the written evidence taken at the time:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmtreasy/994/994we14.htm

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmtreasy/994/994we08.htm

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmtreasy/994/994we06.htm

YOU MUST READ THIS NEXT ONE, IT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY HCI, BUT IS A GREAT READ.

IT ALSO SHOW THAT INSPITE OF WHAT YOU MAY THINK, WE DO RETAIN A AN OPEN AN UNBVIASED RECORD OF PUBLIC COMMENT AS PART OF UK POLITICS.

IT IS ALSO HILARIOUS:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmtreasy/994/994we07.htm

Just in case you don’t want to click off the blog – here is a taster:

“The rhetoric of “transformation”, “reform”, “investment”, “transparency”, “devolution”, “prudent”, “cautious”, “audited” and “world class” is so indulgent and self-congratulatory that one wonders if some drafters inside the Treasury are parodying ministers.”

Professor David Heald, Comments on Budget 2006

Ouch!

At the time the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats both lobbied against the decision and the recorded debate on Hansard is a fantastic read. It is also a good introduction to political punditry and how Politician’s really debate:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo060502/debtext/60502-22.htm

(The unanswered question for me was always how you can abuse a taxation system that assesses individual taxation in arrears…but then I am bias and this blog isn’t about HCI!)

So with this background you would think that it would be easy to gain Parliamentary support for a refocused replacement scheme developed over 4 years at a cost to the IT Industry (not the tax payer!) of over £2.6 Million.

Not so…

In practice the differentiation between the Parties on the issue of supporting a tax incentives is in practice not all that large. (Sorry Scott)

ALL Ministers (despite what the expenses scandal suggests) are concerned as to how to pay for any incentive, will it fit with policy…

So why post this blog at all?

Well my personal concern is not about the detail of Tax Policies, nor believe it or not HCI.

My concern is the Conservative approach. Will it win us the election?

Have a look at the following comparison of Labor and Tax summary statements.

John questions whether there is enough clear blue water between Labour & Conservatives on Tax policy……you decide!

Treat yourself and see if you can spot the difference!

Conservatives:

“We will freeze council tax for two years by reducing wasteful spending on advertising and consultancy in central government.”

Labour:

“We are reducing the amount of central prescription so that local authorities and their partners are better able to respond to local needs and demands.”

Conservatives:

“We will introduce a £50bn National Loan Guarantee Scheme to underwrite
bank lending to businesses and get credit flowing again.”

Labour (DirectGov):

“The government is announcing that it will offer capital and asset protection on those assets most affected by the current economic conditions. This will reduce banks’ uncertainty about the value of past investments, so providing them with greater confidence to lend in the future to creditworthy businesses, homeowners and consumers.”

Labour (Policy):

“Working with banks, Labour is providing loan guarantees to businesses to help them get the credit they need.”

Conservatives:

“We will provide tax cuts for new jobs with a £2.6bn package of tax breaks to get people into work, funded by money that would otherwise go on unemployment benefit.”

Labour:

“Extra cash to encourage employers to recruit people without jobs.”

“Stepping up the training and support people need to get back to work.”

Conservatives:

“We will cut the main rate of corporation tax to 25p and the small companies’ rate to 20p, paid for by scrapping complex reliefs and allowances”

Labour:

“Allowing businesses facing difficulties to spread their tax payments on a timetable they can afford.”

Conservatives:

“We will give small and medium-sized businesses a six-month VAT holiday, funded by a 7.5% interest rate on delayed payments.”

Labour:

“We have reduce VAT to 15%”

Conservatives:

“We will cut National Insurance by 1% for six months for firms with fewer than five employees, paid for from the above changes to the company tax regime.”  

Labour:

“When it is affordable, we will re-link the basic state pension to earnings.  We aim to do this by 2012 or by the end of the next parliament at the latest.”

Conservatives:

“We will abolish Stamp Duty for nine out of ten first-time buyers and raise the Inheritance Tax threshold to £1 million. Both of these changes will be funded by a flat-rate charge on non-domiciles.”

Labour:

“Extending the Stamp Duty holiday for properties under £175,000”

“Extra mortgage protection to help families stay in their homes”

“Helping savers by increasing the threshold of Individual Savings Accounts to over £10,000”

Now hopefully some clever contributors will now explain to me the differences in the comments…WAIT, some I can see! (And before you comment, I know that the Conservatives have shown how they will pay for it !!)

But you know it all does kind of sound the same to me…and taxation detail is part of my day job…

…So what hope does the deciding electorate have?

I do sincerely hope the Tory manifesto has some really clear taxation differentiators in it.

Otherwise I might get confused and vote for the wrong Party.

Here is a thought…committing to bring back s320 income tax benefits for computers would be a start.

Hey look, it is my daily bread…      

John Laity…..

Nigel Farage may have grabbed the headlines when he announced he was breaking centuries of Parliamentary convention and challenging Speaker Bercow for the seat of Buckingham.  Much chatter has remained about the possibility of an Independent Candidate emerging to challenge them both.  Independent candidates could play a big role in the next election as anger continues over MP’s expenses and with Parliament failing to sanction tough action against some of the worst offenders, fury remains in the country at large.  Speaker Bercow announced this week that MP’s who ‘flipped’ their second homes to maximise their expenses or avoided paying capital gains tax will escape censure under the Official House of Commons enquiry.  That means MP’s like Elliot Morley and David Chaytor who claimed thousands for ‘phantom mortgages’ have been given the all clear by Sir Thomas Legg.  Oh and another ‘flipper’, John Bercow, wont be penalised…worth mentioning that!

Today’s guest blog is from Patrick Phillips, the man that both Bercow and Farage will come to hear much more from in the coming weeks and months.  It goes without saying that come election results night, Buckingham will certainly be a Constituency that the media will be keeping a close eye on and reporting widely.  When Patrick got in touch telling me he was standing and the reasons why, it made sense for a Guest Blog so you readers could hear his story and pass your own judgement.  A story of how a Conservative voter felt he needed to take action.   Over to you Patrick…….

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Superb thoughts from Guest Blogger John Laity.

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Britain remains in recession, yet Germany and France recover……Fiscal Stimulus or Tax Breaks?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today (23/10/09) said British gross domestic product fell by 0.4 per cent between July and September, meaning the economy has contracted for six successive quarters for the first time since records began in 1955.

With an election due by next June, the length of the downturn must be worrying for Gordo and the Labour Party, particularly as Germany and France are already out of recession. Does this show that the Labour spin machine is way off the mark:

“This Chancellor is leading the rest of the world in taking us out of recession.” Gordon Brown, Hansard, 3 June 09

Following publication of the ONS report sterling fell by more than a cent against the dollar, providing no relief for Chancellor Darling, who has forecast that UK growth will resume by the end of the year and is counting on a stronger rebound in the coming years than most independent forecasts.

UK Services contracted by 0.2 percent over the quarter, with the distribution, hotels and catering sub-sector leading the decline with a 1 per cent quarterly drop. This can only be bad news for Unemployment figures, hidden perhaps by the news that Royal Mail workers will strike for a second time…not good for business…

The ONS also showed industrial output to be weak, following a sharp monthly drop in August, and the GDP data bore this out. Industrial production fell by 0.7 per cent over the quarter, taking its annual decline to 10.4 per cent.

Commenting on growth figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

‘This is now the longest recession in modern economic history. Even the co-ordinated world-wide stimulus has not been able to halt the damage done by the financial crash.

Even if we had achieved a technical recovery today, it would not feel like a recovery to the thousands losing their jobs or afraid that they will join the dole queue in the months ahead when unemployment will continue rising. It takes more than a statistical read out and the return of big bank bonuses for a real recovery.

These worse than expected figures should head off the growing signs of complacency. The economy is still extremely fragile. Any halt in economic stimulus – or even worse, cuts in spending in a premature effort to close the deficit – could easily send us into another downwards spiral.

Politicians cannot now say that the recession is over so we can go back to treating the unemployed as work-shy scroungers rather than victims of the financial crash. Fighting unemployment – particularly among the young – must be national priority number one.’

Ouch…pokes in the eye for Gordo and Darling…best wear safety specs from now on in…

So why is it that Germany and France have recovered sooner than the UK?

The quick answer is that the UK economy was in a worse state than the rest of the world. Something I am sure all opposition parties will want to highlight.

HOWEVER, on the run up to an election we should look to dig deeper.

As late as April 2009, analysts were predicting that the outlook for the German Economy was gloomiest of all states:

“Berlin, 8 April, 2009 The outlook for Europe’s largest economy is nothing less than catastrophic. For an economy that has been historically strong, never contracting more than 1% a year since World War II, the Commerzbank forecast that it would shrink 7-9% in 2009 is not encouraging.”

However, as part of Germany’s recovery plan they instigated a sweeping range of Tax Breaks, including allowing companies to write off interest payments more easily, as well as the loosening of Gewerbesteuer, which is a local trade tax.

In addition to reducing the tax burden on business, Germany instigated a range of Tax Breaks for individuals including a measure to reduce “cold progression” — where workers’ income tax brackets rise with pay increases.

Indeed while the UK Government has pledged to remove tax breaks for Child Care Vouchers, the German Government has plans to raise child-support payments to 200 euros a month from 154 euros and lift the tax exemption for dependent children to 8,004 euros from 6,024 euros annually.

To be fair, these plans were shelved from immediate implementation on 10/10/09 by the German Government, but the difference in approach between the UK and Germany is clear.

Meanwhile, France’s Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres has classified video gaming as art. In doing so, the French gaming industry including Ubisoft, Vivendi and Infogrames received a 20 percent tax break. Gaming Projects were pre-approved to ensure they provided cultural diversity, but this is still a smart move as the Gaming Market seems to be recession proof, so a great thing to promote within your economy.

Of the projects approved, 45 per cent were Nintendo DS projects with an average budget of EUR 281,000 (GBP 250,000), 20 per cent were Wii projects for EUR 2.7 million (GBP 2.3 million), 16 per cent PC projects for 2.5 million (GBP 2.2 million), while PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 projects accounted for a further 15 per cent, averaging at EUR 11.2 million (GBP 9.9 million).

A similar project is underway for film makers, where foreign film makers can recoup up to 20 per cent of their production budget in France, up to a maximum of four million euros. The BBC have already taken advantage of this on it’s series ‘Merlin’, which is being filmed in a chateau in northern France…It seems somehow wrong that King Arthur isn’t supporting English Heritage sites…

But it is not all culture, one of the main forms of assistance granted to address the recession is an exemption from the French business rates, the taxe professionnelle.

The extent of the exemption depends on the type of business and the decisions of the local, county and regional councils, but in those ZRR communes with less than 2000 habitants, all new start-ups with less than 5 employees can get complete exemption for a period of 5 years. Similar assistance is provided in Local property taxes, but the most interesting assistance is provided in the form of employer social security contributions.

If you are proposing to take on staff in France, then there is complete exemption from the payment of employer social security contributions for any new employees, for up to 12 months, capped at 150% of the level of the basic wage…A measure that is very similar to that proposed by the UK Conservative Party, who plan to provide National Insurance exemption for new company start ups.

What has the UK done?

Chancellor Darling did implement a reduction in Value Added Tax (Input Tax / VAT) by 2.5%. However, you have to consider that many companies and organisations annually reclaim VAT as part of business expences. As such, although the stimulus is effective in passing individual households savings on everyday items, those business reclaiming VAT skew the picture. More over, as the stimulus is time limited it does little to mitigate VAT charged on long term leasing or outsourcing contracts. If you leased plant in 2009, you know that it will cost more in 2010.

The Chancellor also implemented the green car incentive program, similar to that in place in Germany…Sadly, too late for the LDV Maxus Van, but then I am not sure that the scheme would have applied in any case…

One thing is for sure. With Election 2010 looming and the difference between Tory 10% Cuts and Labour 9.8% Cuts to Public Services is so small, that the matter of taxation breaks and incentives is sure to be an interesting discussion area!

Some other things to digest:

The Australian Government announced a tax break as an ‘investment allowance’ in December 2008 aimed at helping businesses meet the challenges of the economic downturn. The government later extended this tax break in the May Budget to allow small businesses to claim a 50% tax deduction on eligible assets bought by 31 December 2009.

In New Zealand Offshore oil and gas explorers will have their tax breaks (due to expire in 2009) extended for another five years to bring additional revenues into the economy.

Huge welcome back to Scott Newton, who provides us a great thought provoking guest blog today.

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Labours Booze Britain. A drain on the NHS, A Drain on Police Resources. A waste on the Public Purse. It has got to stop under the new Conservative Administration!!!
 
After watching the TV Series Booze Britain on Bravo the TV Channel, and witnessing first hand Friday and Saturday Nights in out Town Centres I have come to the Conclusion of a Zero-Tolerance approach against these people who Drink themselves stupid, get mortal drunk, cause Trouble, start fights, then get treated on the NHS, or get arrested for Drunk and Disorderly Behaviour by the Police. Now I am not saying I am a saint, of course I am not I have been out lots of times, been drunk in the past, we all have! But I still keep that core words “Personal Responsibility” intact! There is a fine line between someone having a Good Night out, having a Laugh, then someone else Getting Politick, being Sick,  and then going to another bar to down and drink more alcohol, just for the sake of getting Mortal Drunk.
 
These people are a waste of time, a very expensive drain on the Economy; they have no “Respect” for themselves or anyone else around them. Prudence and thrift must come first under a Conservative Britain.
 
I see a huge problem of Underage Drinking here in the UK. Violence by boozed up girls and boys aged between 10 to 17 is at record Levels. Fatal Stabbings are on record Levels- mostly connected with Alcohol, and high amounts of it. This has got to stop. We have got to stop being such a Society of Wasters to a Nation of “personal Responsibility”. We in the UK are known as the Booze Brits, and we see the evidence of this all the time on Television, Newspapers of alcohol fuelled Violence. If anyone has seen the Street Crime UK Costa Del Sol programme you will know why.
 
But this again comes down to the Government in charge. And people as “individuals”  Since Labour has come to power, Alcohol related Deaths has increased. Alcohol Consumption is up Tenfold. Drink Driving is also at record Levels The NHS is stretched enough as it is and we still carry on treating these repeat offenders over and over again and it is adding to our NHS deficit. Now yes I am a Compassionate Conservative. I believe in the NHS, back the NHS and use the NHS. But the NHS is not an automatic resource for these “wasters” to use. It’s just Commons Sense that the NHS is for treatment of the Sick, the venerable and the elderly, not the repeat offender “Boozers”. If you cannot handle your Drink, Don’t drink in the First Place. That is my Policy!!
 
So again the Conservative Policy I believe should be to refuse “Repeat Offenders”. A 3 Strike rule in a 24 month Period or no NHS Treatment at all I would back. If it’s for people who are Drunk and Disorderly there should be a more severe Sentence instead of this slap on the wrist and a £40.00 ASBO fine. I think along the lines of Community Service of cleaning the Mess up on a Friday and Saturday Night that most Council workers have to do. Give them a Taste of their own Medicine so they can see what it is like. So these are my views and I would like to know other’s views as well. 
 
Scott Newton
Conservative Activist. Newcastle upon Tyne

As we learn ‘The Sun’ and its 10 million readers come home to the Conservatives, John Laity continues his look at the Labour Party Conference and Gordon Brown’s ‘speech of his life’…or was it?

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“Never stop believing in the good sense of the British people.” by John Laity

Wow what a bashing! Gordo you punchy PM you:

“Only one party with pretensions to government made the wrong choice; the Conservative Party of Britain.
They made the wrong choice on Northern Rock.
The wrong choice on jobs and spending.
The wrong choice on mortgage support.
The wrong choice on working with Europe.
The only thing about their policy that is consistent is that they are consistently wrong.”

Gordo was on form and although you wouldn’t have got even odds at the bookies on what his speech would contain, I was surprised that he was so direct. Here was a Gordo that didn’t pull his punches.

Good show Gordo, I never like to see a one sided beating!

I did have some real puke moments though.

Thanking John Smith, Neil Kinnock and John Smith for the way forward…Very twee, but a good PR ploy…”Gordo the left the middle and the right of the Labour Party!”

And then there was my Little-Britain-convulsive-hose-pipe-puke-but-no-joke-making moment:

“The first is the one I spoke about in detail on Sunday when I talked about the mission of our brave men and women in Afghanistan.
The heroism of our fighting men and women is unsurpassed and we owe them a debt we can never fully repay. And let us on behalf of the British people pay tribute to them and their courage today.
The British armed forces truly are the finest in the world. And let us say to them – all British forces will always have all the equipment they need and the best support we can give.
And conference let me say, Britain will work with President Obama and 40 other countries for peace and stability for the people of Afghanistan, and to make sure that terrorism doesn’t come to the streets of Britain.”

If that is what you truly believe Gordo, then pay the USA for the computer software upgrades keeping apache helicopters on the ground…Let LDV staff build you some bomb proof vehicles…Oh, lets face it, it is hardly worth the comment!

BUT !!!  Gordo did actually nail something for me!

“Never stop believing in the good sense of the British people.”

You see I have stopped believing…

I believe the UK People are apathetic and turned off by politics.
I believe that the Voter doesn’t know who to vote for or why to bother…After all, all Ministers pretty much ignored expenses abuse…Except maybe Vince Cable.
I also believe that the Voter is tired and feels that they can’t do anything.

And THIS last belief is what really bothers me…

We the Voters are the problem for the state of the UK…Not Brown, not Clegg, not expenses and not even the banks.

Election on election we fail to cast our vote. So we also fail to hold anyone to account.

Here are some of the examples of failure that I will take on myself…and you should too, as you live in the same society as me.

1. Fiona Pilkington, killed herself and her 18-year-old disabled daughter Francecca after being hounded by local youths. This was not a failure of the Police, nor the failure of the Local Authority, nor was it Gordo’s fault. Yes we could point the finger at any or all of them, but this was OUR failure. When questioned the neighbors of Fiona admitted this, “I should have spoken out, but feared I would be pulled into the problem.” – An honest answer and one that shows how WE are failing our communities.

Another example of our complacency:

2. Wootton Basset, close to my heart as it is my local town. But here is a thing…I DON’T want Royal Ascent for Bassett! What I really want for Wootton Bassett is for it to revert back to its unknown status. Just another small town in Wiltshire…What I want is that we don’t see any more young men or women shipped through the High street in a coffin…NO MORE PLEASE

So, in June next year VOTE !

Not for Gordo, not for Clegg, not even for the Conservatives nor any other individual party…

Vote to take on the responsibility for those things that are wrong.
Vote to start to hold to account those in power for the lack of support they show for our armed forces.
Vote for better health care, for sensible economics, for jobs, for work, for help for your neighbours.

But it is not just a vote, you should also commit to taking a stand. Stand against terrorism and not just terrorism abroad, but also where I see it in your local community. Stand up and speak out with hope, even if it puts you at risk…In doing so you might just change the opinions of those in the wrong, for the better of everyone.

Lastly, and most importantly, take a stand for fairness and honesty from our leaders and from our policy makers.

In June 2010 YOU can make a small individual statement and pick the party and leadership that will best reflect what YOU think our country needs.

And remember, June is a really good time to take a stand on your own!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nXT8lSnPQ

So Thank you James Gordon Brown !

We will vote and we will:

“Never stop believing in the good sense of the British people.
Never stop believing we can move forward to a fairer, more responsible, more prosperous Britain.
Never stop believing we can make a Britain equal to its best ideals.
Never, never stop believing. And because the task is difficult the triumph will be even greater.”

You are right, now is not the time to give in but to reach inside ourselves for the strength of our convictions…Change, Hope and David Cameron.

Now that is beyond conference spin!

~;v Gimme some hungry chicken ~;v

Another guest blog from John Laity.  Keep em coming John….

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So following a “packed” pre-launch speech yesterday, we get some interesting openers.

“The pull of coming back to serve this Prime Minister, our leader, Gordon Brown – who was gripping this financial crisis, leading the fightback against it when so many others seemed caught in the headlights.”

He’s back !!!  Mandy’s Here !!!

Yes, Peter brings some enthusiasm to a lack luster and tired looking conference so far. A welcome and entertaining relief from those sentenced to a week in Brighton.

Amongst some classic Mandelson Vandalism’s were the following gems:

“I did not choose this party.  I was born into it. It is in my blood and in my bones.”

And like Jesus the party faithful ate his body and drank his blood…but then came my predictions from yesterday:

“A Labour Government has never been more needed.
- Needed to fight back against the recession.
- Needed to build and secure our future economic strength.
- And needed to ensure we pay down debt in a way that is fair and protects jobs, homes and our frontline public services.
And yet, we must face facts. Electorally, we are in the fight of our lives. And, yes, we start that fight as underdogs.”

Now this is worrying, the spin master has laid down the rules. We will now face an unrelenting unmoving non-wavering line upon these issues. Labour are fighting back you know!

But there is hope…In some gutter slinging we now have “Boy George” and “Shallow David Cameron”…Good news, as such slinging is bad news for Votes…

But note that it will come from Lord Mandelson, not from Gordo…No the spin machine is too good for that.

But what of the other speakers?

Hilary Ben, a past Labour big hitter stepped up, quoting Roosevelt and the great Depression and then drawing down from Obama: “It is with hope that we can – and we will – change the world for the better.”
Eddy Miliband, a past contender to the crown, “David Cameron is good at green stunts. The huskies. The bike – with the car and driver following behind. The wind turbine on the roof.”
Lord Adonis, “Join Labour on this great journey. Let’s not go down the Tory dead-end street. do so.”

My interest was most peaked by Tessa Jowell, who quoted Obama and then compared the general public (that she meets traveling around the country) to Olympians, “They may not mount the podium to receive a medal, the adulation of a nation ring in their ears.”…Bronze medals for everyone then!

But certainly we started to get a feel for what the big hope really was for Labour…Don’t let the Conservative wield Obama style “Change”!

Lord Mandelson laid some traps:

“Well, the Tories may have skimmed the headline summary of the New Labour manual.  But they never bothered to read the book. If they had they would know what real change involves.  They would know what a painful process it is. We in this hall know what it took to make the change. Show me what has really changed in the Conservative Party.”

But the real speech today to listen to was from Gordo’s Number 2. The reluctant resident from number 11 gave a good account of what Labour have done to stem the global thermonuclear meltdown of the world finance system. He told us how Gordo had single handedly stopped us from dying in the nuclear winter caused by the collapse of (Northern Rock?) our entire monetary system…Impressive stuff…

But in the impressive list of godly monies spent to help us recover were some interesting omissions:

No monetary account of the billions handed out to the banks…as to do so would have eclipsed the monies quoted as being spent on Jobs and Industry

No mention of what was being spent to win the war in Afghanistan…to bring home troops safely. I suspect we will get that from Gordo tomorrow.

So all eyes will now turn to Gordo, who now not only wants a televised debate now (apparently)…he wants a whole load of them…See he was never scared of Cameron, he just didn’t want Nick Clegg involved.

John Laity has his passions running high at the moment and provided another cool blog entry.  John, rest assured that more people will read this than there were at the Conference Hall listening to Gordon Brown yesterday!  Over to John…..

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“The Underdogs Fight for a Better Future Against the Tories”

So we now have the official party line for Conference from Gordo.

We could laugh at the admission of being the underdog, but the language used here is very important:

1. We all like to back the underdog
2. Better Future, recognises we are upset
3. Fight, Fighting Back, etc. are all incredibly powerful statements when we have 2-3 young soldiers dying each day in Afghanistan…

This is good spin…

It is now vitally important that Conservatives point out that Gordo is not fighting back in Afghanistan, nor is he helping the UK fight back unemployment , nor has he fought back against the bonus banking culture. The only think he is fighting for is credibility within a tired Government.

THE MORE IMPORTANT NEWS TODAY IS:

Angela Merkel has claimed victory in the national elections in Germany that took place today. Her victory is enhanced by the fact that center-right parties won the elections overall, giving Merkel the opportunity to form a center-right government that is business friendly…

Merkel was popular because of her stable, calm governance of the economic situation. During the election, she appealed to the German people to not take a chance by changing horses in mid-stream (so to speak)…Surly this is bad news as it provides confidence for Gordo (who stood next to Merkel last week at G20)? NOT SO!

The German centre right campaigned for a stronger line against the banks, more prudence in public services and a pledge for TAX CUTS!

The German public were not stupid, they knew that only investment in Industry and individuals will bring with it the growth that will allow you to tax and address the public spending deficit. They gave a resounding NO VOTE to those party’s taking the left of centre view!

Now we have exposed the argument that both the Tories and Labour will cut services, we should not shy away from committing to targeted tax cuts that will stimulate recovery. They should be:

- Employers NIC breaks for employers investing in training
- Tax Breaks for those making house hold investments in broadband and technology (that will facilitate reductions in spending on public services as we can reduce the cost of delivering them)
- Tax Increases on Banking Bonus’s

Now is the time for some George Osbourne slam dunking!

IT WILL BE TAX POLICY THAT WINS THE NEXT ELECTION…NOT SPEND POLICY!