The Tory campaign has lost its wheels. There are certain controls that good governance requires remain at the disposal of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This used to include interest rates, but it is now fashionable for central banks to control these, a development which history may show to have been a mistake. But to pass a law to tie the chancellor’s hands on income tax, VAT and and national insurance is madness. Nobody can know what the next five years will bring or what political or financial emergencies may arise. It can only mean, in view of the cascade of unfunded promises already made, even more cuts for people who can cope least. And suppose in a crisis he has to act to raise one or the other of these taxes and breaks this law. What are voters supposed to do then. Dial 999?
The truth is that the Tory leadership now believes that nobody believes them (or private polling has told them as much) and so they think a law to bind them to keep their promises is needed to give them a chance on May 7th. It is a cynical move by a bunch of clueless spin doctors which is unlikely to convince many. This is because should the chancellor wish to raise any or all of these taxes he would only have to repeal the law to do so. So the whole thing is meaningless as are all laws made by governments about government. Laws only work when the people subject to them cannot change them. That is what laws are. Dear me.