26 July 2009

Gutter politics

Is this now the way the Labour Party thinks? The Observer reports:
Plans to hold a referendum on changes to the voting system on the day of the next general election are being considered in Downing Street as part of a ploy to expose David Cameron as a roadblock to sweeping constitutional reform.
The idea, backed by senior ministers, has come to light amid growing recriminations within the Labour party over poor campaign strategy and a lack of fresh ideas for attacking Cameron, following Labour's thumping loss in Thursday's Norwich North byelection.

Perhaps The Observer is putting two and two together to make five, but it would not be the first time that Labour has adopted a policy in order to make life difficult for the Tories (see tax changes in Brown's final budget as Chancellor). As it happens, I believe that the proposed referendum may not necessarily be a bad idea - but to introduce it in order to set a conundrum (or a poison pill) for the Tories is simply cynical game-playing.

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