Can the Conservatives afford not to increase taxes?
Ken Clarke has today opened a debate regarding taxation and the potential increase of both income tax and VAT in the short term. While there has been no official comment from the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, there is no doubt that any party in power after the next general election will need to increase taxes across the board. We will also see a significant reduction in public sector investment, something which will place the next government at serious loggerheads with the unions.
It is known that the unions are already targeting the Conservative Party as they believe they will be in power come the next general election. A quick glimpse back to history shows that Margaret Thatcher took on and beat the unions back in the 80s although whether any such battle will occur in the years ahead remains to be seen. The unions were badly damaged by the Conservative Party back in the 80s but whether David Cameron has the nerve and the bottle to take such a hardline approach, should he gain office, is a matter for serious debate.
More and more differences are starting to emerge between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party and voters in the UK are starting to position themselves across the political spectrum.
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