Dec 18
Mr Letwin - Here’s some waste you can cut
The Tories have given the British People a firm commitment that they might, at some indeterminate point in the future, if the circumstances are right, in the fullness of time, er, when we have seen the books, after other commitments have been fulfilled, er, where was this heading?
Oh yes, Tax Cuts. The policy that dare not speak its name.
Perhaps I should not be churlish. I think Oliver Letwin’s instincts are right on this, but he is being held back by his shadow cabinet colleagues who do not want to be seen to be cutting anything except “waste”.
Yet, despite Labour’s burgeoning public sector workforce and bloated spending plans, the Tories have not identified that much “waste” they are willing to cut. In this, they are more or less sticking to Labour’s spending plans which will most inevitably lead to a similar pressure to increase taxes.
Now Labour have given them a massive opportunity in the shape of the National ID card scheme. This is a huge spending commitment.
The National ID card scheme dwarfs the savings that could be achieved from scrapping the New Deal. It is a gold plated example of Government waste. Even better – since the scheme has not yet been put in place and contracts have not been awarded, there are no strong vested interests to fight – no one will see their jobs directly threatened so politically it is an easy win.
Estimates range from 5 billion to upwards of 20 billion for implementation with extra each year for the running costs. The wide range in estimates of the cost stems from the fact that the scheme is not yet scoped and even if it were, one has to factor in the degree to which one believes such a large IT scheme will overrun its budget.
This is therefore a major, uncosted – or at any rate, badly costed – spending commitment.
So what have the Shadow Cabinet done? Condemned the policy as uncosted? No.
They supported it and put a 2 line whip on the Parliamentary Party to do likewise.
This is dumb beyond belief.
If, as Labour will probably claim, this could be financed within existing budgets, then scrapping the scheme could release enough money to fund a penny or two off basic rate income tax. If the ID card scheme can not be funded within existing budgets, it will inevitably lead to higher taxes – which could be avoided by scrapping it. Either way, the Tories would be onto a winner by opposing the scheme. It would give the hard working people of this country a positive reason to vote Conservative.
*As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting this post for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.
Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
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Submitted for Your Approval
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…
Submitted for Your Approval
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…
Best of Me Symphony #63 – Gonzo Edition
Mr Letwin, Here is Some Waste to Cut, advises Wolfie at Dodgeblogium, on Letwin’s part of the upcoming Tory manifesto. Are the Conservatives throwing away a chance to gather steam? We conquered Lyndon Johnson and we stomped on Richard