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Originally Posted by Dante Hicks
Quoted for astonishment.
But really? I'd be surprised if (beyond gimmicks) we see anything even marginally interesting from them. The flat rate tax thing might have been a curiousity, but I don't see the support for it, even in the mainstream-right. So beyond immigrant bashing, vague mutterings about helping people back to work and reducing targets/bureaucracy in public services, what have they got?
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When I say 'proper' set of policies, I'm not necessarily saying they'd be the right policies - only that they'd be set out, explained and repeated over and over by the shadow minister with the relevant brief.
As for the flat tax, an examination into it began in Autumn 2005. It seems that they decided that it would have some economic benefits, but that it'd be too difficult to introduce - so instead they're going to look towards simpler taxes and in the long-run, lower taxes. The other Conservative mantras (immigration and the rest of the populist spiel) have been floating around because it's impossible for everyone in the party to resist trotting them out each time an opportunity arises.
It's impossible for me to tell you what the Conservatives' policies are right now because, as I said earlier, the conference is there to settle all of the policy debates and reviews that they've been holding. Of course, this has all been done under the assumption that Brown won't hold an election until 2009ish (giving ministers 2 years to learn their briefs and policies inside-out). An election now really screws them over after a lot of hard work.
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Originally Posted by Dante Hicks
Either way, I was reflecting today how little it would probably matter. The next government will not only face the same issues regardless of who wins, but they'll be dealing with it in fundamentally the same way ("What's that you say...a policy to use the taxation system to incentivise renewable energy supplies? Wow!")
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Non-monetary methods haven't exactly worked, have they? But yes, from your point of view I suppose the two parties (or all three, actually) are one and the same.
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Originally Posted by Dante Hicks
The only question (not of much importance as I see it) is who you view as a more competent Chief Exec.
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Oh joy, Presidential politics.