David Cameron has just revealed a manifesto that finally adds spark to the election campaign underway in the U.K. The spark is the Tory pledge to reduce taxes.
Without the tax cut issue, the Conservatives would appear as little more than the familiar budget slashers, and while slashing does need happen, the take home pay of the electorate probably matters more to the economy and to the fate of the Tories.
The rest of the campaign will revolve around the sad stories of (mostly) Labour MPs who abused their expense accounts--a juicy, but old scandal--and the sheer weight of growing government control of ordinary people's lives.
Much of the Conservative Manifesto just released reads like the standard boilerplate of politics, "inviting" constituents to "join the government." Right.
What rings most true--what distinguishes today Conservatives from Labour or the Liberal Democrats--is the line the Tories have adapted from a supermarket chain: "Good government costs less with conservatism."
Another modest, but real and justified defense of conservatism comes from the great Tory icon, Benjamin Disraeli (to paraphrase): Overall, conservatives will make you fill out less paper.
Meanwhile, Labour's Gordon Brown also has a campaign manifesto out, and it is a bit of a dud. The Prime Minister so far seems stuck in a defensive posture. The biggest good news for Labour is a giant 400,000 pound ($615,000 dollar) campaign contribution from big businessman Lord Alan Sugar, star of The Apprentice, perhaps described as the Donald Trump of England.
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