Just where do the Tories stand?
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Contributing editor
Emily Hohler Mar 27, 2009
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"Every time David Cameron makes a major speech, it seems to result in a major row," says Janet Daley in The Daily Telegraph. Last week's attempt to set out Conservative policy on the economic crisis was "instantly buried under an avalanche of outrage" over Cameron's commitment to Labour's planned 45p tax rate on anyone earning more than £150,000 a year. The party was thrown into further disarray when the shadow business secretary, Ken Clarke, told a TV interviewer that a plan to raise the inheritance tax (IHT) threshold to £1m was merely an 'aspiration'. The official line is that Clarke's comment was a 'cock-up', but voters still feel confused, says Iain Martin, also in The Daily Telegraph. Do the Tories stand for higher or lower taxes?
The Tories would look "ridiculous" if they didn't endorse the 45p tax rate, says Daniel Finkelstein in The Times. The recession has made it even more important for David Cameron to show that the Conservatives are the party not only for the rich, but for everyone. It is understandable that those on the right don't like the idea of tax increases or a delayed implementation of the rise in the IHT threshold (the measure will now happen within Cameron's first term, rather than on day one of a Tory government), but it is also profoundly depressing. "The detachment from reality of some on the right is extraordinary."
Far from it, says Simon Heffer in The Daily Telegraph. "We all appreciate how dire the economic predicament is", but implementing Labour's 45p plan won't solve anything. The priority is to stimulate demand, and this will be achieved by cutting taxes, not raising them. Quite, says the Daily Mail. Dramatic public spending cuts and tax increases will eventually be required to put Britain back in the black, but first the economy "must recover enough to pay those taxes". Clobbering entrepreneurs with a 45p tax rate and higher business rates (the government is raising them by 5%) is hardly going to help. Public spending cuts are essential too, much as the Tories may hate to talk about it, says Heffer. Trimming just one third of a% off our total spending bill of £650bn would save the £2bn Labour thinks it will raise with its 45p tax rate. Any household asked to cut its annual budget by one third of one% a year would "not even have to blink".
Of course, the Tories should focus on cutting back, says Finkelstein: "taxpayers are paying for many organisations and services they wouldn't dream of funding if they had to buy for themselves". But there are so many other areas where the electorate want to hear about Tory policy – on schools, crime, defence. Yes, says Heffer: at the moment there's precious little to distinguish between the Tories and the government. But this election is likely to be fought on "rescuing the economy before it sinks". It's a pity Cameron "doesn't even seem to know where the lifeboats are".
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