Sunday, March 21, 2010

LibDems All Over the Place on Fuel Tax

Nick Clegg appears to be at odds with his own chief of staff, Danny Alexander, over the fuel duty hike. Mr Alexander has called on the Chancellor to postpone or cancel the fuel duty increase planned for April 1st. But when pressed on the same issue on the Politics Show today, Nick Clegg, said he was against revisiting the debate about this...

JS I'm just wondering whether you think they should go ahead with it?
NC We are not changing the position we took at the last budget. You're asking me should the government now revisit the debate we had last time.
JS Yes.
NC No.
JS So they should stick to that proposal?
NC We are sticking to the position we took in the last budget. You're asking me whether the budget should second guess a budget that has already occurred.

Speaking later to the Glenn Campbell on the Scotland section of The Politics Show, Clegg’s Chief of Staff Danny Alexander - author of the LibDem manifesto, said:
DA I don't think that the government should be pressing ahead with trying to increase fuel duty yet again in April with prices going up so far and so fast over the last few weeks....
GC You want the Chancellor to postpone or cancel the planned increase in duty from April the 1st?
DA Yes I do.

And the LibDems expect to be taken seriously. Seriously.

5 comments:

Jason Myers said...

Reminds me of Labour. Laim Bryne - who I can't stand - said Labour wouldn't need to raise taxes, then Mandleson said they might. I wonder if people at the top ever actually speak to each other?

The Grim Reaper said...

What's the Tory position on the fuel tax rise, Iain? I'm rather behind on the news at the moment, so asking out of curiousity.

Prodicus said...

Par for the LibDems whose everlasting tactic is Love the one you're with: Story A for audience A, Story B for audience B.

Does it never occur to them that some people flit between audiences and hear both stories and that therefore they will be found out?

They assume we are as thick as they are.

A party of stupid, mendacious tossers, led by the finest of their kind.

Anonymous said...

The Lib Dems are in DEEP DEEP trouble, they dont have time to ditch Clegg now and they are starring abyss in the face.

Chris Huhne will lose Eastleigh and Vince Cable is too old after Ming the merciless. The Lib Dems should just repay the £2.4 Million dodgy donation and wind themselves up as a failed organisation.

Jimmy said...

They look like perfectly compatible coalition partners for you.