Tories Go For A Slash

So, with the Tories showing signs of nervousness, and under pressure to unveil the kind of policy that can make a difference to the election campaign, the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the seventeenth Baronet, made sure his party would keep on favouring those at the very top of the tree by telling the world that his party would dole out even more money to Themselves Personally Now.

Yes, to show that he was still stuck in the rut he created back in 2007 when Young Dave’s opponent was Pa Broon, Osborne decided that it would be A Very Good Thing Indeed to announce an inheritance tax reduction. This, he has clearly decided, would entice all those floating voters into moving back to the Tory fold, and all would then be well. One wonders if he has been on the mind-altering substances again.

“Cheers! George Osborne unveils new 'family home allowance' which means parents can give £1million to their children tax free - but owners of £2million mansions WON'T benefit” declared the Mail On Sunday, this being a typical reaction. The Sunday Express declared “Death Taxes Scrapped For Most Homes”, but the upmarket titles decided that the only way to describe this was to go for a slash.

“Inheritance tax slashed by Tories” declared the Sunday Telegraph, with the Sunday Times managing a rather similar “Tories slash inheritance tax on homes”. But the detail of how this measure would be paid for - unlike the £8 billion NHS commitment, this has actually been costed - is not easy for the Tories or their press pals: “£1billion cost paid for by curbing tax relief on pensions for high earners”.

“Curbing tax relief on pensions”?  Can you smell hypocrisy? When Gordon Brown did that, he was denounced as a “pension thief”, and the move was characterised as a “raid on pensions”. Moreover, the small print does not look all that inspiring: the new “allowance” would not come in until 2017 - another case of “jam tomorrow” - and, as the MoS article concedes, over £1 million, the new measure is limited or non existent.

“Above the £2 million mark, the new death duty limit will be clawed back by HM Revenue and Customs at a rate of 50p for every pound … Those who leave estates worth more than £2.3million will receive no additional tax benefit … Their inheritance tax allowance will remain at the existing £650,000 for a married couple”. This is intended to appeal to a very small number of people - probably mainly in the South East.

Will it move the polls? It’s doubtful. In any case, Osborne, in having made his unfunded NHS offer, is going to find himself time and again facing the situation he came up against on The Andy Marr Show (tm) this morning, where his £8bn commitment was ridiculed and all he could offer in riposte was to tell his inquisitor to “look over there” at the possibility of SNP support for a future Labour Government.

That’s what happens when you go for a slash without engaging brain first.