Budget Cuts

So business as usual at Westminster, as the phoney economy continues. Lots of posturing about cutting and spending on either side of the house, but no detail.

I'm in favour of some cuts. Trident is one. We are not a superpower and we don't need a nuclear deterrent. Spain, Germany, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Italy, etc... seem to do perfectly well in defence terms without one. The ID cards scheme is another. Both seem hopelessly outdated in 2010.

Caroline Lucas spelt things out pretty honestly in our budget response, and was on Radio5 Live this afternoon. The response is also on our website:

"Our manifesto, to be released just after the call of the general election, is a practical and realistic plan to move towards a more equal society, fight climate change and protect public services."

"Unlike the other parties, we will argue that increases in taxation for the better-off are required. We will raise taxes fairly and explain them honestly."

"Labour's plans depend upon wishful thinking about how quickly the economy and tax revenues will recover. They are unwilling to tell you about the cuts and tax increases coming later. The Conservatives will cut public spending, but have not put forward a plan that adds up to remotely enough cuts without tax increases to cut the deficit."

"In contrast, the Green Party will be open about what we would cut, what we would defend, and about the fact that we need to raise taxation from 36% of GDP in 2009-10 to around 45% in 2013. This would halve the gap between government expenditure and revenues by 2013-14 (as the Labour government proposes) and progressively close the gap thereafter."

There is a local angle to this. The Greens were the only party to propose a modest council tax increase of just 1% in Liverpool. We know that there are essential services that need funding now. We know that there is a looming financial crisis nationally that will impact on local councils. Yet still, both Labour and the Liberal Democrat parties proposed a freeze on council tax in Liverpool. A pre-election phoney posture that means more difficult choices than there needed to be next year, despite common talk of an £80 million funding gap for our city (or £120 million according to Liverpool Labour).

If only the other parties had actually considered our proposals on a better value local democracy when we put them forward. We face some tough times ahead and locally if Labour finish with an outright majority (unlikely but possible) on the council, they will be faced with a near impossible task.

The outgoing administration has certainly made things difficult for whoever comes in to deal with, and that is as true at a local level as it is at a national one.

Breaching Netiquette?

Given the seriousness of my last post, retaining a sense of perspective is important. Politics is a serious business, but it can also be subject to pettyness and point scoring, something we should try to avoid.

We recently had this delightful leaflet circulated in Liverpool, printed and published by the local Lib Dems. We issued this rebuttal and we also had our regular Greenview newsletter going out.

In it, we pointed out a comment (a truthful and realistic one, I might add) made by a local Lib Dem PPC about their prospects in Liverpool Riverside, on the Vote-2007 website about a year ago.

The site is run by Iain Lindley, a Conservative councillor from Salford, who on the whole does a very good job and runs an excellent site. There are some excellent contributors, some of whom are miles apart from my political views, but who have a keen analytical grasp of politics.

There are partisan views, but in general, the people who contribute there are a decent online bunch. There are far worse sites. I'm an occasional contributor but regular visitor ("lurker" in online terms).

So did we (as Liverpool Greens) and I (as the person who spotted this quote some time ago) breach netiquette? We won't have been the first (this has been done to the Greens in the past by the Lib Dems), and probably won't be the last.

Context is important, which is why I've included the leaflets above. Comments are welcomed. If you think I've got it wrong on this, in the context of the campaign going on here in Liverpool, let me know. The relevant thread is here.

David Allan

Very sadly, I'm going to a funeral today.

One of my students, a bright, pleasant and intelligent young man, David Allan, died two weeks ago. He was a lovely lad to have in the class, with witty comments from time to time, and a really positive outlook on life.

He is already greatly missed by all his fellow students and by staff, and I'm sure he will always be remembered by those who knew him. Rest in peace David.

Nick Clegg Praises Thatcher

Colin Eldridge might not be including many pictures of Nick Clegg on his campaign literature in Wavertree. The Guardian report today, "Nick Clegg Praises Margaret Thatcher's legacy" is not going to win many votes here in Liverpool.

As Liberal Conspiracy points out, this is clearly more about defending the marginals in the South West rather than winning urban seats from Labour:

"The LibDem leader is back in “savage cuts” territory, by arguing that the deficit should be dealt with only by spending cuts and no tax rises, which outflanks Cameron and Osborne on the right. (Nelson contrasts that with a Tory approach of 80% cuts to 20% tax rises ratio, and Labour 66% to 33%)."

Luciana Berger and the Labour campaign might actually be able to mount a comeback in this contest, despite some appalling self inflicted damage and gaffes.

Canvassing - Lunchtime update!

I've just walked home for a quick lunch after a morning's canvassing in Greenbank. We've been covering an area Labour has already door knocked, and I'm very encouraged by the number of Green voters and Labour (General Election) / Green (Local Election) splits. The number of voters willing to identify themselves as Lib Dems continues to be very low. More politics work this afternoon, but really positive out there for us.

The St Michaels team are also out today, despite a late night at the Casa last night at a very well attended fundraising event! Well done everyone who attended and a big thank you to Sonnenberg Solo and Rumjig for the music.

Red, Yellow and Blue Non-Doms

So we now know that all three major parties accept large donations from people who choose not to pay UK tax.

Labour: Lord Paul and others

Liberal Democrats: Soudhir Choudrie

Conservative: Lord Ashcroft

I repeat. These donors avoid paying their fair share of UK tax by being non-domiciled.

Rotton. No wonder that people with ordinary jobs, faced with a lifetime bill for bailing out Britain's greedy bankers, are so disillusioned with mainstream politics.

It doesn't have to be like this. You can do something about it. Join the Greens today.