This game’s fun! I should play this game more often.
Some people criticise the Conservative Party for lacking ideological coherency – or, indeed, any ideology at all.
Some people suggest that the Conservatives will simply say whatever it takes to obtain and maintain power, regardless whether or not that leads them to take philosophically contradictory positions or make themselves look silly by promising one thing one day and something else the next.
Some people, you note.
But not The Minister. That would be cheap politicking.
I’d much rather Conservatives speak for themselves.
Tuesday 3 October 2006
George Osborne’s first conference speech as Shadow Chancellor
To those who still want us to make upfront promises of tax cuts now we say: ‘We will not back down. We will not be pushed or pulled, we will stick to our principles. We will do what is right. I am not going to write my 2009 budget in 2006′.
Surely we must have learnt from three election defeats this simple truth: we must win the argument on the economy. We will never do that if people believe that our tax policy comes at the expense of their public services.
Monday 1 October 2007
George Osborne’s second conference speech as Shadow Chancellor
We are the low-tax party… It is a mark of our seriousness about lower taxes that I will not promise unfunded, undeliverable tax giveaways to dress up a press conference in an autumn election campaign. For this party, lower taxes aren’t just for Christmas. They are for life.
We will take the family home out of inheritance tax… In a Conservative Britain you will not be punished for working hard and saving hard… The next Conservative government will raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m.
Taken together our measures on stamp duty and inheritance tax represent the most important reform of capital taxes for a generation… We will take 10 million people out of these taxes on aspiration. We will simplify the tax affairs of millions. For millions of people, today sounds the death knell for death taxes.
I will approach each budget seeking ways, consistent with sound public finances and economic stability, to reduce taxes on businesses and families striving for a better life. That’s the real difference between this chancellor and the next one. He is always looking for ways to put taxes up. I will be looking for ways to bring taxes down.
Monday 29 September 2008
George Osborne’s third conference speech as Shadow Chancellor
It’s no good talking about the big up-front tax giveaways we might like to make, or the big spending increases it might be nice to have. Because I repeat: there is no more money…
There are still some who think that Britain can borrow to pay for big unfunded tax cuts, let me just say this: I want to cut taxes too. I want to put money back into the pockets of families and help businesses compete. It is the aspiration and ambition of this Party that we leave office with taxes lower than when we came in…
The country may not be able to afford upfront tax cuts because borrowing is too high.
Where has this man been all my life? He’s comedy gold: he even contradicts himself in the same speech!
He should be Palin’s running mate in 2012.
Oh now come on. Whatever we think of George Osborne, I think it’s a little much to associate him with Sarah Palin. Be thankful we live in a country where someone like Palin would be desTROYed by someone like Paxo on Day One, were she even to surface in front line politics, which I doubt. There’s a reason, say, Michael Fabricant is and always will be a backbencher.