vot. uk. gov - amazing how many "threats" there are

[Huge]

Jesus, what a mess.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Should really be known as the Tory Tax.

[Andrew]

Never mind a couple of years. If Labour and the SNP get into numbers 10 and 11, it will be an immediate 8p on fuel duty, which means another 3p VAT as well.

[Andrew]

And in socialist countries like Norway and Sweden, VAT is 25% and charged on almost everything, including food. In Hungary it seems to

27%, which must result in an awful lot of cash-in-hand work.

Strangely enough, the UK has one of the lower rates of VAT, though not the lowest.

[Andrew]

Why ?. It was introduced as a requirement for joining the Common MArket. Denis Healey put it up to 25% at one point, or has your addled socialist BBC brain forgotten ?.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

He put all of VAT up to 25%? But he then dropped the higher rate back to

12.5% a couple of years later.

Your twisted ememory will have conveniently forgotten that Howe got rid of the lower rate and raised that single rate to 15% a year after that.

But don't let facts get in the way of things. Tories never do.

[Adrian]

You make it sound as if the party behind a policy is more important, in determining if it's a good or bad thing, than the policy itself.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The Tory party generally claims to be a tax cutter. And better at managing the economy in general. Actual facts show that they often claim to cut taxes, while merely changing the type. Generally to favour the better off at the expense of the poorest. Reducing the top rate tax while increasing VAT is one example. The community charge another.

[Adrian]

A non-answer worthy of a politician, Sir. I congratulate you.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It was a totally pointless question. When did any party stick to its manifesto. But you can look at trends. Which is what I did.

[Adrian]

So that's a "Yes", is it? The party is more important than the policy?

[Tim Streater]

Parties going into coalitions don't because they can't. Manifestos get torn up and thrown away at that point, and an agreement between the parties is made, and becomes the basis of a programme of government. So we get governed on something no one had a chance to vote for - one reason I dislike coalitions.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Until the present one, they were rather rare in the UK. And didn't last long.

And the way they blame the other for any woes, but take the credit for the better things.