Comments on: Lib Dems to back SNP on local income tax?

By: Geoffrey Payne

Geoffrey Payne — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:14:39 +0000

I am delighted at this news. I think it is crazy if we cannot replace the council tax. If the policy is a success, then we should campaign for it at the general election as a top priority.
If it fails, then Vince’s caution is vindicated.

By: Jay Entee

Jay Entee — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:29:43 +0000

This could backfire, be careful. The Tories had already alienated Scotland but then gave them the deeply unpopular poll tax a year before the rest of the UK. Bad move.

when I see people saying, to all intents and purposes, try it out up there first to see how it works then my heart sinks.

By: john

john — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:30:43 +0000

We should be governing with the SNP in Scotland since they’re largely sensible, we ought not to be opposed ultimately to self-determination for small nations, it’d slay the myth that we’re Labour’s little brother and it might do so some good there.

We shouldn’t, however, do it just to inflict LIT on the folk there.

By: Grammar Police

Grammar Police — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:41:29 +0000

Of course, Stephen, you are correct about the period when we were in Government in Scotland, when we certainly made the administration more liberal.

I meant that I think we should use this opportunity of potential agreement with the SNP to implement a distinctive policy – as opposed to opposition for opposition’s sake . . .

By: Bruce Nelson

Bruce Nelson — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:20:18 +0000

We should learn from the criticism of the SNP’s proposals. This is one of the more daft of our policies.

By: Stephen Glenn

Stephen Glenn — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:38:33 +0000

Also I may never hat tip Stephen Tall again looking at the timing of this post and the traffic to my site since I posted on this.

By: Stephen Glenn

Stephen Glenn — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:37:27 +0000

Grammar Police what do you mean one? We put several into practice from 1999-2007 up her in Scotland.

By: Bernard Salmon

Bernard Salmon — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:32:55 +0000

While the SNP’s conversion to our position is welcome, if true, there’s still the difficulty that the SNP and Lib Dems together do not have a majority at Holyrood, so it still needs at least one other party (maybe the Greens?) to at least abstain for LIT to go through.

By: Grammar Police

Grammar Police — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:31:12 +0000

I agree – let’s use this as an opportunity to actually put one of our policy proposals into practice.

By: Laurence Boyce

Laurence Boyce — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:28:03 +0000

Good. Then we can see how well LIT works. And while we’re about it, why don’t we just get into government with the SNP instead of kicking about on the sidelines?