Another botched Labour effort to copy Tory proposals
It is sometimes alleged, usually by Labour supporters, that the Conservatives do not have any policies. Actually this is nonsense, but David Cameron is faced with the need to hold some of our plans until the election is finally called, because when we do publish proposals the government often nicks them.
This would not be a bad thing if they implemented them properly, but quite often what we get is a half-hearted mess which may discredit the policy - as for instance over the botched attempt to taxation "non-domiciled" residents which ended up scaring away some high-earning foreign residents without bringing in a penny of extra tax revenue.
They have done it again this week. Where the Conservatives want to scrap stamp duty for nine out of ten first time house buyers, Labour is to suspend stamp duty on house purchases below £175,000 for one year.
But as with the way Labour did a half-hearted copy of our plans on inheritance tax which did not go far enough, this latest Labour attempt to copy Tory plans does not go far enough either.
City analysts said the plans — announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling — are "too little, too late".
The National Federation of Builders called it “little more than a political sticking-plaster”.
And Shadow Chancellor George Osborne called it “a short term survival plan for the Prime Minister, not a long-term recovery plan for the economy.”
There is also a question mark over where £600million needed to fund the scheme will be found.
This would not be a bad thing if they implemented them properly, but quite often what we get is a half-hearted mess which may discredit the policy - as for instance over the botched attempt to taxation "non-domiciled" residents which ended up scaring away some high-earning foreign residents without bringing in a penny of extra tax revenue.
They have done it again this week. Where the Conservatives want to scrap stamp duty for nine out of ten first time house buyers, Labour is to suspend stamp duty on house purchases below £175,000 for one year.
But as with the way Labour did a half-hearted copy of our plans on inheritance tax which did not go far enough, this latest Labour attempt to copy Tory plans does not go far enough either.
City analysts said the plans — announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling — are "too little, too late".
The National Federation of Builders called it “little more than a political sticking-plaster”.
And Shadow Chancellor George Osborne called it “a short term survival plan for the Prime Minister, not a long-term recovery plan for the economy.”
There is also a question mark over where £600million needed to fund the scheme will be found.
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