Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Welcome to ‘Letters From A Tory’, covering British politics from a conservative perspective. Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts about today’s letter, and don’t forget that you can CLICK HERE to get my letters sent to you by RSS every morning.Dear Ed Balls,
We all know that the Darling/Mandelson double-act has made [...]

”No Chancellor is ever going to say they are never going to change the tax system over the next five to 10 years or whatever.”
- Alistair Darling, giving a suitably weasily answer about the upcoming Budget on Sky News’ Sunday Live programme. (full story HERE)

“They should be able to enjoy a drink in these times of hardship without being penalised by extra costs. They are already paying enough in taxes. Enough is enough.”
- Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, responding to the news that drinkers face swingeing increases which would add several pounds to [...]

Dear Alistair Darling,
I’m sure No 10 and No 11 are tempted to feel quite smug at the news that more than 60 senior economists have signed two open letters that back the chancellor’s decision to delay government spending cuts until 2011.  The letters in the Financial Times say that any measures to trim the budget [...]

This is John Varley - the chief executive of Barclays.
He thinks London’s role as a leading financial hub may be “damaged” by the new bonus tax.  He told the BBC that “banks are competing globally – this bank, Barclays, competes with banks all around the world and we have to be able to compete on a level [...]

“We love Gordon and Alistair over here — we rather hope they get another term.”
- James de la Cloche, director of Edge, a property consultancy in Jersey.  It is reported today that the number of directors of British companies who have registered in the Channel Island tax havens of Jersey and Guernsey, along with the [...]

From everyone’s favourite paper, The Sun:

Dear readers,
Sometimes you really have to take your hat off to a Government and say ‘well done’.  During these difficult economic times, it takes real courage to stand up there and deliver a set of policies that will start the long haul back to financial stability, even if it costs them votes in the process.  Yesterday was [...]

“We were promised a pre-Budget report and we got a pre-election one.  No-one will believe a word they say on the economy again.”
- George Osborne’s response to the PBR, which he described as a “catastrophe”, adding that every family in the UK would be “paying the price” for Labour’s mistakes.

“The banking industry did not cause a housing bubble, it wasn’t the one setting monetary policy and it wasn’t in charge of the regulator.”
- Angela Knight, the chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, as the banking industry today warned the Treasury that plans for a “supertax” on bankers’ bonuses would damage the City’s reputation [...]

“I’ve always been clear that I’m not against people being rewarded for hard work.”
- Alistair Darling, explaining that the upcoming Financial Services Bill will include new powers for the FSA to rip up contracts for bankers who are paid “unjustifiable” multi-million-pound bonuses (full story HERE)

Dear Alistair Darling,
After Gordon Brown was humiliated on the international stage over his unexpected proposal for a so-called Tobin tax on the financial sector, it falls to you to try and convince us that everyone still loves his idea.  Unfortunately, as with every announcement on cracking down on tax havens, rogue bankers, greed, excessive bonuses [...]

“Growth will come – I’m confident about that”
- Alistair Darling, demonstrating his stunning economic credentials once again while commenting on the disastrous GDP figures released today that showed the UK is in its longest recession since the 1950s

Dear trade unions,
No sooner had you heard Alistair Darling’s announcement about a one-year pay freeze for senior civil servants, members of the judiciary, senior NHS managers, GPs and chief executives of quangos then you were up in arms about it.  Your collective reactions were, however, self-centred and short sighted.  Furthermore, George Osborne’s announcement yesterday that the [...]

2nd October 2007: Gordon Brown is accused of “cynical pre-election politics” over his visit to British forces in Iraq during the Conservative Party conference.  Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said MPs had been led to expect a statement on the withdrawal of troops from Basra in the House of Commons. “It now seems that the [...]

Dear Alistair Darling,
When will this end?  It seems that you cannot go for more than a few weeks without having to fight for your credibility and even your job.  One can only imagine what it is like to be on the receiving end of such regular interference from senior Cabinet colleagues, seeing as every attempt [...]

“Ian Gibson clearly didn’t deserve to be railroaded out of the party. The leadership clearly wanted to make an example of someone, and Ian was bounced out. I think it was an appalling thing to do to him. People are not stupid. They have looked at what the reality is and measured what Ian did [...]

“For the really rich people, the effect of the 50p rate will simply be another challenge for their tax accountants”
- Boris Johnson on the Chancellor’s new tax

“Alistair is likely to do well in life – but only if he learns to do what he is told”
- a recently revealed report from Loretto School on the present Chancellor of the Exchequer

“We have to be realistic about this. You cannot, you must not, build up false hope.”
- Alistair Darling, who has finally realised what the rest of us have been saying for goodness knows how many weeks and months, admitting that he underestimated the severity of the recession.  He is expected to predict the British economy will [...]

Dear Alistair Darling,
Watching you and the other major world finance ministers struggle to agree on the agenda, let alone any solutions, for the G20 summit next month is truly hilarious.  Gordon Brown has pinned all his hopes on kidding himself and voters that this summit will somehow signal the end of the economic crisis and [...]

“Alistair Darling is clearly so stretched that he hasn’t time to put his eyebrows on and has to borrow someone else’s”
- Rory Bremner

(taken yesterday on Tottenham Court Road in central London)
“We used to think that you could spend your way out of a recession and increase employment by cutting taxes and boosting government spending. I tell you in all candour that that option no longer exists.”
- James Callaghan, at the Labour Party conference in 1976

Dear Alistair Darling,
No no no no no, please god no.  The debate over the economic crisis has shifted enormously over the past 10 days or so.  The Conservatives have distanced themselves from the pre-budget report this afternoon, safe in the knowledge that you will announce short-term gains for long-term pains through massive hikes in borrowing.  [...]

What Darling said at the Budget earlier this year:
“…my forecast shows the UK economy will continue to grow throughout this period of global uncertainty”
“…the reforms we have made since 1997 – independence for the Bank of England and tough fiscal rules – mean that Britain is now more resilient and better prepared to deal with [...]