Tuesday 16 September 2008

Cable Messages

"Houses are homes to live in, not gambling chips."

Hear, Hear.

Cable expressed his admiration for Norway. Well, as Energy Secretary, Tony Benn might have closed so many pits that there were not enough left at the end for his record ever to equalled (Margaret Thatcher, as Education Secretary, had done the same thing to the grammar schools), but he also wanted to ringfence the North Sea oil money for future economic regeneration, necessarily outside the then-EEC.

This was successfully done in Norway, now the richest country in the world as a result. However, all hope of it ended here with the 1979 Election that brought Thatcher to power, soon after which her Energy Secretary, Nigel Lawson, boasted that Britain's energy policy was that of not having one (so why was he drawing a Cabinet Minister's salary?).

There are three messages here: public ownership, the renunciation of Thatcherism, and the repudiation of Eurofederalism.

And Cable rightly drew attention to the scandal of the use of the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies as tax haven.

Yes, but what about London?

And if the British Overseas Territories are to have more taxation, then they must have representation. Justice for Diego Garcia. And justioce for Ascension Island.

There is already a party like this. Do get in touch, Vince.

6 comments:

  1. Do you think he will?

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  2. Boom, boom? Was that a joke?

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  3. It wasn't bad for spur of the moment, come on.

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  4. Party - a party needs at least more than one member - you ridiculous man!

    The only sort of party you have control over is one where there is one hand.

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  5. It certainly does, or it cannot be registered with the Electoral Commission, you ridiculous little boy.

    Nothing for you after all, eh? Wrong chromosomes, not quite posh enough, too local...

    They look you, they look at this blog (or at me in the flesh, come to that), and they know.

    And you know that they know.

    ReplyDelete