Budget U-Turn : Mon May 28, 2012 11:40 pm  

It seems that our beloved government have had to do a major climb down over the Pasty and Caravan taxes. http://www.itv.com/news/2012-05-28/past ... n-vat-tax/ As some have already said it is a very convenient time to do it too what with parlament being in recess. All this after 'Call me Dave' stood up and started shouting about how unfair the difference between VAT on Static and Tourer caravans was. It's all rather embarrasing but just not as embarrasing as the defeat they faced if the VAT on caravans had actually gone to a vote. What an utter shambles.

It seems that our beloved government have had to do a major climb down over the Pasty and Caravan taxes. http://www.itv.com/news/2012-05-28/past ... n-vat-tax/ As some have already said it is a very convenient time to do it too what with parlament being in recess. All this after 'Call me Dave' stood up and started shouting about how unfair the difference between VAT on Static and Tourer caravans was. It's all rather embarrasing but just not as embarrasing as the defeat they faced if the VAT on caravans had actually gone to a vote. What an utter shambles.

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 6:13 am  

No U-turn of the 50p tax rate though. Typically, they can find £375,000 of public money to fund a "research project" to relocate and destroy the nests of buzzards (a protected species) because 76% of gamekeepers "believe" that buzzards have a harmful effect on gamebirds. So no detailed scientific or statistical evidence, just some people "believing" a problem exists. All this comes from the desk of Richard Benyon, who also moonlights as Fisheries Minister, the same Richard Benyon who only managed to identify two of the fish he claimed to protect. He also happens to be a millionaire landowner with a 20,000 acre estate in Berkshire and enjoys the odd bit of shooting, along with his boss and cabinet colleagues. As much as I despise Thatcher and her policies, at least you knew what you were in for and apart from the Poll Tax, she saw through pretty much all she proposed. Cameron will spin this latest U-turn as "we are listening", the LimpDems will claim glory for forcing a change in policy and all the while people will still have to live with very real downshifting in their finances and welfare.

No U-turn of the 50p tax rate though. Typically, they can find £375,000 of public money to fund a "research project" to relocate and destroy the nests of buzzards (a protected species) because 76% of gamekeepers "believe" that buzzards have a harmful effect on gamebirds. So no detailed scientific or statistical evidence, just some people "believing" a problem exists. All this comes from the desk of Richard Benyon, who also moonlights as Fisheries Minister, the same Richard Benyon who only managed to identify two of the fish he claimed to protect. He also happens to be a millionaire landowner with a 20,000 acre estate in Berkshire and enjoys the odd bit of shooting, along with his boss and cabinet colleagues. As much as I despise Thatcher and her policies, at least you knew what you were in for and apart from the Poll Tax, she saw through pretty much all she proposed. Cameron will spin this latest U-turn as "we are listening", the LimpDems will claim glory for forcing a change in policy and all the while people will still have to live with very real downshifting in their finances and welfare.

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 7:09 am  

And another I do hope someone is keeping count of all these u-turns and better still, adding up the cost of not thinking things through in the first place. We've surely never had a more shambolic bunch of misfits in charge of the country?

And another I do hope someone is keeping count of all these u-turns and better still, adding up the cost of not thinking things through in the first place. We've surely never had a more shambolic bunch of misfits in charge of the country?

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 9:48 am  

I love this phrase "U-turn"

What's wrong with admitting your original decision was wrong, and amending accordingly? Why does everyone's first judgement have to be the correct one?

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 10:24 am  

ROBINSON wrote:

I love this phrase "U-turn"

What's wrong with admitting your original decision was wrong, and amending accordingly? Why does everyone's first judgement have to be the correct one?

Because it's evidence of shambolic thinking when a proposal is announced before any sort of process management has taken place. Why were there no dissenting voices prior to these announcements being made? It suggests a climate of fear and a real dislike of anyone who doesn't toe the party line.

On the pasty tax and caravan VAT, they'd already had a vote in parliament and both proposals passed in the Finance Bill, with few, if any dissenters from the coalition benches.

Basically it's piss-poor policy making "on the hoof"

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 10:34 am  

ROBINSON wrote:

I love this phrase "U-turn"

What's wrong with admitting your original decision was wrong, and amending accordingly? Why does everyone's first judgement have to be the correct one?

"U-turn if you like, the lady's not for turning"

Ask the speaker of those words about admitting you're wrong and amending accordingly.

I have no problem with a "u-turn", but as others have said, a better thought out policy in the first place, that avoids having to do a u-turn, would surely be better in the long run.

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 11:06 am  

ROBINSON wrote:

I love this phrase "U-turn"

What's wrong with admitting your original decision was wrong, and amending accordingly? Why does everyone's first judgement have to be the correct one?

Because it displays the incompetence of the government in making the original decision. If they didn't care or where prepared to accept what the decision would do to bakeries/caravanners etc then ok, I or anyone might disagree about whether it's worth it but at least the government would know what they were doing. By doing a U-turn it merely proves that they made the decision without either knowing or thinking about what the effects of the policy would be. For highly paid people in any job that's unacceptable. For a government who's had months to get things in order for the Budget, it's inexcusable.

[DaveO]

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 11:26 am  

ROBINSON wrote:

I love this phrase "U-turn"

What's wrong with admitting your original decision was wrong, and amending accordingly? Why does everyone's first judgement have to be the correct one?

Because it is symptomatic of this governments incompetence.

It's not the first U turn is it and the idea they made these U turns because they listened and so this is a positive thing is well wide of the mark. It is simply down to policy making on the hoof and not thinking it through.

Remember the climb down over the forest sell-off? They are in the process of watering down the withdrawal of child benefit.

All these policies including the pasty tax and VAT on static caravans were put forward because the government had decided that they need the revenue but when the ink is dry on the legislation and people start having a look about how to implement the policy or what the effects will really be they unravel. That is incompetence because they should have thought these things through in the first place.

The pasty tax was unworkable because the idea was to levy VAT on products sold "above ambient temperature". So do you charge VAT on a pasty or sausage roll that was cooked and has gone cold or not? That is why it has been thrown out. It was unworkable. Not to be kind to Cornwall. The fact they didn't see this shows how little thought went into it which begs the question if they can't get that simple thing right what are we in store for when the things they won't change despite far greater warnings of disaster such as the NHS reforms go through?

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 11:28 am  

Labour never changed any of their plans, did they?

Re: Budget U-Turn : Tue May 29, 2012 11:37 am  

Standee wrote:

Labour never changed any of their plans, did they?

They admit they did but no one could point out to anything like the scale or scope of u-turns this lot have performed in two years