Tories must come clean on Tax
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Welsh Conservatives have been snarling at Labour over council tax for some time. Today, they revealed the full scale of the outrage that followed the controversial revaluation of homes in 2003. There were upwards of 30,000 appeals in total, with almost 20,000 resulting in a band change.

Council tax in Wales has risen a whopping 186% since 1993 - outpacing the increase in house prices by 7%. In England, meanwhile, council tax has risen only 121%.

It's an issue the Tories would be silly not to use to their advantage. But, sooner or later people will start demanding an alternative. And that's where the Conservatives could falter.

Let's take a look at their website. Not a word on alternative policies there. In fact, you have to go back to the 2005 election manifesto for a clear position:

The way in which a government allocates taxpayers' money demonstrates its values. By going to war on waste and ending ineffective public spending programmes, we will achieve these aims.

Is that still the case? If so, which public services would they cut?

Let them have their cake and eat it. Or give us another cake.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 1:41 pm, ,


Tory policy - gimmicks or bananas?
Sunday, January 14, 2007

Welsh Conservative leader Nick Bourne is right to be wary of election time gimmicks. They are rarely what they seem.

But are his alternatives weighty enough to get people out of bed on polling day?

For instance, take the Tories' pledge to "draw up a code of practice with supermarkets on devoting floor space to local food."

A worthy cause, perhaps, but there's nothing to stop them lobbying for this in opposition. I presume it would only be voluntary in any case, such is the Conservative mantra.

The ideal pledge is probably somewhere between promising the world and Preseli-grown parsnips. All the parties would do well to be a little more realistic in their promises this time around, since nobody is quite sure yet who will be in government to deliver them.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 10:58 am, ,