Fisking Jackie Ashley

‘The Lib Dems must be bold or they’ll become irrelevant’ - so says Jackie Ashley in today’s Grauniad. She’s right, of course. She’s also out-of-date.

Tempting as it is to ‘fisk’ the whole article, I’m going to shrink from the pleasure. I’ll let today's Grauniad do it instead.

Jackie reckons:

Current Lib Dem strategy is so hazily general that the party appears to have no direction of travel.

thegrauniad reports:

Sir Menzies said the [Lib Dems’ tax] plans would take 2 million of the lowest paid out of tax; would cut the basic rate from 22p to 20p, benefiting 25 million middle-income earners;’ and would raise the top-rate threshold, helping another 1 million workers.

Jackie reckons:

They don’t want to raise taxes overall, or to cut them overall, or to stop squeezing the rich, or to start squeezing the rich.

thegrauniad reports:

The changes are also more redistributive than the existing policy, and mark a switch from income to wealth and pollution taxes. … Robert Chote, director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, told BBC Radio 4 the top 10% of earners would pay around 4% a year more in tax.

Jackie reckons:

… their destiny is surely to be the most boldly and aggressively green of all the parties and to take a left-liberal approach on tax and civil liberties.

thegrauniad reports:

[Ming Campbell] urged members … to back ‘the most comprehensive, green and progressive tax reform presented by a political party in decades’.

Hope that helps clear things up, Jackie. All party of the blogging service, dontcha know.