Danny Alexander gave a big speech at Bloomberg this morning. Interestingly, he mentioned several times that he was from the Highlands and credited his upbringing in a small community with forming his commitment to fairness and managing resources wisely.
It was a wide-ranging speech, which looked back at the almost four years since he entered the Treasury. He said that some of the detail of getting to grips with the economic crisis would have to wait for his memoirs which he hoped would be “some way off”. His main theme was that the Liberal Democrats were, uniquely, capable of managing the economy fairly. It was another variation of the “stronger economy, fairer society” melody.
After outlining the economic progress made – record employment, highest growth in G7, inflation under control, he spoke about maintaining identity within a Coalition:
In coalition, especially in the teeth of a financial crisis, you may think it’s difficult to preserve your own political identity. I would say that across our economic plan the government’s approach bears the hallmark of the Liberal Democrats – balancing the books and doing it fairly; long-term investment in skills and infrastructure; a more competitive tax system.
He went on at some length about tackling tax evasion and suggested a way in which a Mansion Tax could be introduced very quickly after the election by adding in a new Council Tax band for those properties worth more than £2 million. He said:
And so the new system I, as a Liberal Democrat, am proposing is really simple –
A modest additional banded levy on top of council tax for high value properties.
The annual charges, in addition to council tax will be set out in good time ahead of the General Election next year.
By building on the council tax system, there will be no need for a detailed valuation of the small proportion of properties affected.
Crucially this means that this policy could be implemented quickly after the election.
I daresay four years ago some of you had your doubts about the Liberal Democrats, and maybe even about me too.
Well I hope that after four years we have proved the doubters wrong.
We have shown ourselves capable of making the right decisions for the country and sticking to them.
So much so that coalition government has gone from being seen as a huge risk, to being the model of government that most people who care about the future of our economy want to see continue.
A lurch back to single party government, of either hue, is rightly seen as perhaps the biggest risk to the strength, stability, and fairness that is the foundation of our recovery.
With the Liberal Democrats in government for a second term we can again have a Government anchored in the centre ground.
A Government that can be trusted to spend your money wisely and deal with the remaining challenges fairly.
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